Justin Fields had the best all-around game of the season as the Chicago Bears quarterback. He accounted for 251 total yards with three touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground. He was the best player on the field, offense or defense. The frustrating part is it could’ve been even better. Multiple big plays were left on the field because Bears receivers couldn’t catch the ball. Velus Jones and Equanimeous St. Brown were both guilty of costly drops on beautiful deep throws. Once again, Darnell Mooney was the only one who stepped up.
His five catches for 70 yards were a team-high. Sadly it wasn’t enough to change the outcome of the game. Chicago scored a respectable 29 points, but Dallas hung 42 on the defense. There was nothing Fields or anybody could do about that. It was an encouraging step forward for the offense. However, Mooney did come away with some lingering concerns. He voiced them to Courtney Cronin of ESPN after the game.
Darnell Mooney on the toughness of Justin Fields: "He’s got to stop taking hits. I love him, he’s a tough guy. But I don’t need him to be a tough guy anymore. Just get out of bounds or something, because we’re gonna need him.”
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) October 30, 2022
Darnell Mooney said what everybody else was feeling.
The greatest fear for Bears fans right now is whether Fields can survive the rest of the season. He’s been sacked 31 times in eight games. That isn’t counting the additional hits he’s taken. It is way too many. Nobody questions his toughness. The guy is remarkably durable, but everybody has a breaking point. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has done everything possible to protect him. Chicago runs the ball a lot, keeps in extra blockers to protect, and crafts quick throws. Unfortunately, all of that can’t cover up how poor the offensive line is.
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It is perfectly understandable to hear Darnell Mooney say those words. He knows how important Fields has become to the Bears offense. In essence, he is the Bears offense. Everything runs through him. Of the 2,711 total yards posted by the unit this year, Fields is directly responsible for 1,623 of it. He’s also scored ten of their 16 offensive touchdowns. It isn’t fun to think about the idea of him getting hurt. Thankfully, the quality of opposing defenses will ease somewhat over the next few weeks. That might give him a reprieve.
Mooney just keeping it real…
Truth.
If Fields had two extra seconds per possession before having to bail out this would be a completely different story. That interior, although they’re blocking their behinds off on rin plays, are absolutely killing us on pass blocking. I trust Poles to fix it.
The QB can’t throw the ball AND catch the ball at the same time. The WRs and TEs need to do their part, too. Slightly overthrown or underthrown, make a play for your QB. Especially if it hits you in the hands. We’ve seen way too many drops and bobbles over the course of the season. Justin holds the ball too long. He’s working on that and he is improving. But when he lets it fly, he needs receivers to make a play and catch the damn ball.
This is where Poles is a failure. There should be urgency to get a line to protect him. Quit sitting on your hands Poles.