The Chicago Bears were out for revenge on Sunday. They knew they should’ve beaten the Detroit Lions a few weeks ago at Ford Field. They let that slip away with an ugly 4th quarter collapse. This time, they arrived at Soldier Field with a purpose. Things were back and forth in the first half. Chicago took a 10-0 lead before Detroit surged ahead 13-10. This time, the Bears took control in the second half, scoring 18 unanswered points and holding the Lions scoreless. Safety Jaquan Brisker led the way with a franchise record 17 tackles and a forced fumble.
However, players weren’t entirely happy with how things went. They were thrilled about the big win, but it came with a bitter aftertaste. It stemmed from the refs and their ongoing refusal to protect Justin Fields. Once again, he took some questionable late hits that would’ve been an immediate flag for almost every other quarterback in the league. Head coach Matt Eberflus was furious about it, but not as much as Brisker. He outright said their refusal to make calls allows dirty teams like Detroit to continue taking cheap shots.
It has to stop.
“They should just treat him fair. He is a quarterback. I know he’s 230 (pounds) and he’s running a 4.3, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s a quarterback and you have to protect him. It’s disappointing. Obviously, the other team is being told to do dirty stuff after the play, hitting him a certain way. It’s obviously being told by how they have treated him the last couple of weeks. A lot of shots to the head. It’s very disappointing seeing a guy like that take hits like that.
“One of those hits, God forbid, could be something very bad. I think the league needs to get on that and notice that. It’s bad.”
Jaquan Brisker has evidence to back it up.
There were multiple instances of Lions players taking liberties with late hits. Two blatant ones happened in the 1st quarterback. Fields took a late shot from linebacker Jack Campbell. Then, towards the head of the quarter, wide receiver Darnell Mooney took another from Alex Anzalone out of bounds. Bears players were pissed. Montez Sweat almost got into a fight over it. That would go a long way in explaining why they seemed to pick up the intensity in the second half. They realized the refs weren’t going to help, so they took care of business themselves.
It’s nice to see teammates sticking up for Fields like this. The fact they’re so upset is a reminder of how much he means to the locker room. Jaquan Brisker has made that clear on more than one occasion. He even apologized to Fields earlier this season when the Bears defense crumbled in the 4th quarter, wasting one of the quarterback’s best performances. The two seem to have a strong relationship. So no wonder the safety fired those shots at the Lions and refs.
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