It was only natural for fans to gravitate towards the big play last Thursday night. Justin Fields made several throws that he never would’ve in September. His poise, timing, accuracy, and ball placement were all on point. Despite the heat from a talented Washington pass rush, he also demonstrated remarkable comfort in the pocket. As a result, he finished with 285 yards and four touchdowns. However, none of those big moments were what convinced Luke Getsy that his young quarterback had learned.
The Chicago Bears offensive coordinator has remained a picture of steadiness over the past five games. He deserves credit for that. It would’ve been easy to cave under the immense pressure from fans and media over the offense’s ugly start. However, he remained confident that with patience and consistent work, results would follow. He’s happy about the yards and touchdowns. Yet they weren’t what clued him in Thursday night that Fields had evolved. It was the quarterback’s willingness to throw the ball away when plays weren’t there.
“Young quarterbacks don’t always like to let a play go. It’s hard for them to do that. Justin is still in that phase. But to be able to do that — throw it away and move on to the next play — that’s absolutely something we acknowledge as a positive.”
Luke Getsy deserves credit for not staying rigid in his approach.
From the moment he took over as offensive coordinator last year, he promised that his primary goal would be to work to his players’ strengths. That especially included the quarterback. He proved that last year when he adjusted the scheme to incorporate more Baltimore Ravens-style plays to unlock Fields’ running ability. This time around, he looked to increase the number of play action fakes, forcing defenses to keep more players around the line of scrimmage to respect the ground attack. As a result, Fields has found more open opportunities through the air.
Now, he’s also starting to throw the ball away. This leads to fewer sacks, keeping the Bears in manageable down-and-distance situations. Fields never did that through the first 30 games of his career. By taking those negative plays away, it’s creating easier opportunities to keep offensive drives on track. That, in turn, leads to more points. Sometimes, as Luke Getsy said, it takes young quarterbacks a long time to learn that lesson. If this version of Fields remains for the rest of 2023, the Bears haven’t gotten much more dangerous.
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