People wondered if what they saw from Justin Fields against Denver and Washington was real or a mirage. Throwing eight touchdowns and one interception in a two-game span is rare for any quarterback. Seeing it from Fields was jarring after so many months of mediocre-to-bad passing performances. Perhaps this was simply him taking advantage of two bad pass defenses. Everybody knew the game in Detroit would determine whether Fields had truly learned anything. What followed was arguably the best performance of his career.
He completed 69.6% of his passes for 169 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 108 yards on the ground. Chicago put up 26 points on one of the top 10 defenses in the league. Sadly, another defensive collapse in the 4th quarter robbed him of a victory. Yet the tape didn’t lie. Fields looked as sharp as he ever had in that game. One person who believes it was a genuine turning of the corner is Chase Daniel. The former Chicago Bears quarterback had been insisting for weeks that Fields was figuring things.
Daniel saw proper growth last Sunday—the best game of Fields’ career.
Justin Fields can’t rest yet.
The Bears aren’t going to make their ultimate decision at quarterback based on one good performance, especially since it still ended in a loss. Fields must string a few such games together. If he succeeds, GM Ryan Poles will have a difficult decision to make. Many people connected to the league think he has eyes on the 2024 draft, taking USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye. Chicago currently holds the rights to the #1 overall pick. They’d have their choice of either. Fields finishing 2023 strong might convince Poles to look elsewhere, either taking someone like Marvin Harrison Jr. or again trading the pick for a haul.
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The path ahead isn’t easy. Minnesota is up next. They gave Justin Fields problems a few weeks ago. Then it’s Detroit again after the bye, and the #1 ranked Cleveland Browns after that. Chicago couldn’t ask for a better setup. They’re going to see exactly what their quarterback is made of. If he can maintain the pace he set in Detroit through December, the Bears must be compelled to keep him. It’s always been about consistency. They want to see it. This was a big first step. Daniel might be right.
