The Chicago Bears are a .500 team after losing to the Green Bay Packers Sunday 24-14. Although Bears’ rookie quarterback Justin Fields made some progress at the position, he continued to make mistakes that rookie quarterbacks make. With Chicago’s record at 3-3, the franchise must now decide if they want the team to compete for the playoffs or use the remainder of the season to develop their young quarterback.

Bears were dominant early but the Packers won the pressure battle outright. Aaron Rodgers was under pressure on 32.1 percent of dropbacks. Justin Fields was under pressure on 43.2 percent.

— Zach Kruse (@zachkruse2) October 18, 2021

The Bears Can’t Compete For the Playoffs While Fields Learns From His Mistakes

Fields has now started four games for the Bears and has played 23 quarters in the NFL, with only one game being a complete positive. The win against the Lions is the lone game in which the rookie quarterback had more good moments than bad moments. The offense with Fields has yet to see noticeable improvement from week to week as the Bears currently rank last in the NFL in several significant offensive categories. Chicago is dead last in the league for passing yards as they have averaged only 117 yards per game. The Bears also have the worse scoring offense in the NFL as they have only scored more than 21 points on offense once this season.

there are also still plenty of reminders that Fields is a rookie who still has a ways to go. There were times today when he simply looked overwhelmed. Chicago's offense as a whole was awful outside of those 2 drives, and Fields played a real role in that.

— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) October 18, 2021

During Fields’ four starts for the Bears, the first-year quarterback has been sacked 16 times, been intercepted three times, and has fumbled three times. The former Ohio-State quarterback has just two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Against the Packers on Sunday, Fields made several quality throws but also took several unnecessary sacks. The most costly came late in the fourth quarter, as he was sacked for an 11-yard loss by Kenny Clark on third down, knocking the Bears out of field goal range. Fields attempting to make a big play made the mistake of not throwing the ball away to preserve field position to give Cairo Santos a chance at a field goal and shorten Chicago’s deficit to seven points. On Chicago’s final offensive drive of each half against the Packers, Fields made mistakes that took the offense out of field goal range.

The sack on Justin Fields leaves the Bears with quite a fourth down to convert to keep the game alive. Green Bay has three sacks on the day, and it's the second that forces the Bears out of field goal range.

— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) October 17, 2021

Although Fields has tremendous potential and can make all the important throws, he still isn’t doing the little things to give the Bears a chance to win because of him. In multiple games, there have been periods where the passing game has struggled to move the ball because of the rookie quarterback’s mistakes. Fields holding onto the ball too long has led to sacks and even potentially costly fumbles for losses.

There has not yet been a significant week-to-week progression jump many have expected from Fields, as many of his games have looked similar outside of the victory over the Lions in week four. In Sunday’s loss against the Packers, the rookie quarterback attempted and completed more passes than he did the week prior but finished with a worse quarterback rating and only 63 more passing yards. There has only been one start so far this season in which Fields has thrown for over 200 yards and only one where he played a clean game with no interceptions or fumbles.

#Bears QB Justin Fields has been pressured on 33 percent of his dropbacks, and he is already the second-most sacked QB in the league.

While some of that has to do with him holding onto the ball too long, it's clear the main culprit in that is poor offensive line play.

— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) September 28, 2021

Bears’ Defense Can Get Them To The Playoffs, But The Offense Needs To Help

This matters as the Bears currently rank seventh in the league in rushing yards and lead the NFL in sacks with 21. The ability to run the ball on offense and generate sacks on defense compliments one another, giving the Bears’ the ability to play close and competitive games. If Fields is unable to generate more production on offense, this hurts Chicago as playing with a lead earlier in games would allow the Bears’ defense more chances to create constant pressure and control the game.

Bears ranks on offense…
246.2 yards per game (32nd)
4.27 yards per play (32nd)
129.0 rush yards per game (7th)
4.42 YPC (12th)
117.2 pass yards per game (32nd)
4.72 YPP (32nd)
14.77% sacks allowed per pass (32nd)
33.3% 3rd down (28th)
66.7% red zone (t-10th)
16.3 PPG (30th)

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 19, 2021

The window for Chicago to win because of their defense is closing as several of their defensive stars are getting older. Pro Bowler Akiem Hicks, Robert Quinn, and Khalil Mack are all over 30 years old, with Hicks being a free agent at the end of the season. Sunday’s game against the Packers was the first time the Bears scored a touchdown first but were unable to hold on to the lead and win the game. In the victories against Detroit and Las Vegas, the Bears’ rushing game was able to do just enough to give the defense a comfortable lead to play with, forcing the opposing offenses to become one-dimensional.

The Bears line giveth and the Bears line taketh

Most sacks on opponents this season:

1. Bears 18
2. Vikings 17
3. Browns 16
3. Panthers 16

Highest sack rate allowed this season:

1. Bears 12.9%
2. Titans 10.3%
3. Jets 9.5% pic.twitter.com/W9PuZE161f

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 11, 2021

Looking ahead to the remainder of the schedule, the Bears’ have a good chance to be a ten-win team given how their remaining opponents have performed. Outside of the Tampa Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, and Baltimore Ravens, the Bears have a good chance of beating their remaining opponents. There is a likely chance that Chicago can have a 5-4 record by the time they reach their bye week in week 10. Having five wins before the bye week would mean that Chicago would have to win five of their remaining eight games which is possible.

The problem is that if Fields doesn’t improve his play and correct his costly minor mistakes, the Bears will not get to 10 wins, nor will they make the playoffs. At some point, Chicago’s front office and coaching staff will need to have a serious conversation if the rushing offense remains effective while the passing game continues to struggle. Unlike the other five NFL teams currently starting rookie quarterbacks, the Bears are the only team with legitimate playoff aspirations and can’t afford to live rookie mistakes at the quarterback position week after week.

How Rookie QB's fared in Week 5:

1. Davis Mills (24 FP)
2. Trevor Lawerence (21 FP)
3. Trey Lance (14 FP)
4. Mac Jones (11 FP)
5. Justin Fields (8 FP)
6. Zach Wilson (7 FP)

First time that all of the 1st round quarterbacks started in a week.#FantasyFootball #NFL pic.twitter.com/SMh3Cz1w5u

— Fantasy Football Updates (@ffupdates2) October 11, 2021

It is understandable for the Bears to want to develop their franchise quarterback, but if their rookie quarterback is more of a risk to lose games than win games right now, they need to make a change in the coming weeks if serious about wanting to make the playoffs. Fields will be a top-level quarterback in the league soon as he contains all the attributes of a potential star, but he may not be ready just yet. If the rookie quarterback isn’t ready that is ok, but Chicago needs to decide how to handle the remainder of the 2021 season.