Everybody predicted the Chicago Bears would have the most anemic offense in the NFL this year. While that is true when it comes to throwing the football, it’s the polar opposite on the ground. The Bears have straight dominated their last two opponents when running the ball. They had 180 yards against the Packers and then rampaged over Houston for 281 on Sunday. Much of that success is credited to the blocking by the offensive line, with guys like Lucas Patrick, Cody Whitehair, and Teven Jenkins leading the way. It’s also thanks to the outstanding abilities of David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert.
However, Patrick revealed that their big win over the Texans wouldn’t have happened without the efforts of an unlikely hero. No, it wasn’t offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. It wasn’t the wide receivers blocking, even though that was a big part of it too. Instead, it was the one man under the heaviest criticism on Sunday. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune picked up the details.
“That’s special anytime you can dominate in one phase of the game, a phase that we’re directly influencing … especially when we lose one of our studs, one of our offensive weapons,” said Lucas Patrick, who started at right guard and rotated with Teven Jenkins. “The preparation (Herbert) has put in is impressive. Didn’t flinch or anything. Just rolled right in and did some great things. (Fields) put us in some great looks. He really did some special things at the line, getting us in the right plays. A lot of credit goes to him as well, kind of managing the offense, getting us the win.
“Every week you game plan and hope to have a game like this. Our standards are high and we’re going to keep pushing our standards higher and hopefully we have games like this every week.”
Lucas Patrick remains supportive of his quarterback.
Yes, Justin Fields has struggled to throw the ball this season. It wasn’t good against San Francisco, but his games against Green Bay and Houston were alarming. Throwing too many interceptions is one thing. The fact that he could rarely string completions together stood out the most. He too often looks lost when forced to survey the field. Defenses are giving him a lot of problems after the snap with exotic coverages.
Pre-snap is a different story. Fields has put in countless hours of extra film study since the off-season began. That often leads to positive results when reading a defense before the snap. The quarterback was able to identify what the Texans were showing in several situations and checked into run plays that could exploit them. It worked to perfection.
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Lucas Patrick, like other Bears players, understand Fields is struggling. Still, they also recognize he’s doing other things to help this team win. They haven’t lost faith in the quarterback.
