It was not a good day for the Chicago Bears in Week 2 of the preseason. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The Buffalo Bills did pretty much whatever they wanted most of the day. They racked up 41 points, held the Bears to six in the first half, and forced two turnovers that killed offensive drives. Andy Dalton looked like a backup quarterback. As for Justin Fields, most will glance at his numbers and say he played poorly.
That isn’t the case. Fields actually had a solid game if you go back and watch the film. He had some bad moments. Typical of a rookie. The problem wasn’t with him. It was his supporting cast. Chicago’s group of wide receivers and tight ends were given several chances to make big plays during the second half. Yet they almost constantly coughed them up with bad drops. A finally tally says there were at least four and more likely five when Fields was in action.
It was tough to watch.
Riley Ridley failed to get one along the sideline that Fields dropped into the bucket. Rodney Adams had a grab for a long 1st down that slithered out of his grasp. Jon’Vea Johnson caught a missile for 23 that ended up hitting the ground. Jesper Horsted failed to corral one and so did Artavis Pierce. This isn’t even counting Jesse James jumping too early in the end zone, robbing Fields of a touchdown pass.
The offensive line also allowed him to get hit way too often. Yes, all of these guys are second or third-stringers. Struggles were going to be inevitable. Even so, this game reinforced that the Bears might not be as strong at wide receiver as they may have thought. Adams is the only one who has produced big plays for them and that’s been marred by drop issues. First last week and again in this game.
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Justin Fields is talented but he’s still just one man
A quarterback is only as good as the help he has around him. It is pretty apparent the Bears have depth concerns at wide receiver. Allen Robinson is still great. He’s also a free agent next year. Marquise Goodwin hasn’t played this preseason. Damiere Byrd hasn’t done much either. Granted, head coach Matt Nagy didn’t do a ton of scheme in either game thus far but this only proves that none of those guys have the ability to get open or catch the football with consistency.
If the Bears want to make Justin Fields a success, they need to continue investing heavily in his future moving forward. That means more money and draft picks in the offensive line and at wide receivers. If that means having to make some sacrifices on defense? So be it. This kid has such a bright future. This organization can’t afford to screw it up by playing it cheap on his supporting cast.
It’ll be interesting to see what they do in the next couple of weeks.
Final roster cuts happen on August 31st. Perhaps the Bears will try to bolster their depth by seeking out an option from another team. GM Ryan Pace has done such things before. The same can happen for the offensive line too. Needless to say, this team has plenty of work still to do on the offensive side of the ball.