Eddie Jackson is programmed to hate quarterbacks. That comes with the nature of playing defense in football. However, he’s had an added layer of reasons since he got to Chicago. He arrived in 2017. Over that span, he was subjected to the likes of Mike Glennon, Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles, and Andy Dalton. This while he had to face Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Kirk Cousins twice a year. To his credit, Jackson never threw his quarterbacks under the bus publicly. He constantly preached teamwork. Still, he undoubtedly wondered if there would ever be a time he could embrace his own quarterback.
Then Justin Fields arrived. During the past year, Jackson has watched the young quarterback endure setback after setback. First, it was glaring mismanagement in his first training camp, followed by terrible coaching. Then his wide receiving corps and offensive line suffered downgrades as a new regime took over. Through it all, Fields never complained. He kept working hard and accepted the blame whenever the team didn’t win. That maturity reached new heights when he apologized to the locker room after the loss in Atlanta. According to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago, that proved too much for Jackson.
He stood up and told Fields to stop. There was nothing to apologize for.
“He’s been doing more than enough,” Jackson told NBC Sports Chicago. “We got to do more on our side to help him.”
“It showed us what we already knew,” Jackson told NBC Sports Chicago. “The type of player he is. Leader he is. He’s a winner, fighter. He’ll go out there and leave everything on the line. Things we already knew. The things everyone sees man, it’s true. Justin’s a fighter, a winner, a leader. He really takes this thing serious in how he prepares, how he works, and how he plays the game. He takes it serious. That’s just things we already knew about him though.”
Eddie Jackson recognizes the sacrifices Fields is making.
He’s putting his body on the line way more often than quarterbacks typically do with how often he’s running with the ball. The fact he is willing to stand behind an offensive line that constantly struggles in pass protection and never complains says a lot too. Jackson seems to think not enough people appreciate what Fields is doing. Mostly average players on offense surround him. Nobody disputes this. Yet the Bears have averaged 29.6 points per game over the past five weeks.
Most of that is because of Fields. Nobody else.
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- 773 passing yards
- 552 rushing yards
- 9 passing TDs
- 6 rushing TDs
- 99.9 passer rating
He averaged 265 yards and three touchdowns per game in that stretch. Yet that isn’t good enough for some Bears fans because he isn’t doing it all through the air. Eddie Jackson doesn’t want to hear it. The only reason this team has been in any of their games for almost two months is Fields. If he and the defense had done their job better, the Bears would have a winning record. That’s a fact. Leave his quarterback alone.
