Justin Fields was going to have his Welcome To The NFL moment sooner or later. Sure enough, he got it courtesy of the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 of the preseason. During the second half, the rookie quarterback got caught looking left. Buffalo brought linebacker Andre Smith on a blitz and he was completely untouched. By the time Fields turned to see him, it was too late. Smith ear-holed him and knocked his helmet clean off.
It was a scary moment. Obviously, it was a flag that drew a 15-yard penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact. What Chicago Bears fans dreaded was whether their prized QB had a concussion. Surprisingly, Fields popped right back up and stayed in the game. Khalil Herbert ran the ball in for a touchdown on the next play.
Justin Fields got leveled 😳
https://t.co/vI93udewR5— PFF (@PFF) August 21, 2021
It was another tough moment in a game full of them for the Bears offense.
Fields didn’t have a bad day. His stats were 9-of-19 for 80 yards while he rushed for 44 on the ground. The problem was his receivers dropped at least four passes and the offensive line really struggled in pass protection. Fields himself didn’t seem to be sweating it too much. After the game, he popped up on Instagram riding with a friend, declared he was not in fact dead from the hit. He is still breathing and going to be fine.
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This serves as another reminder that Fields isn’t built like normal guys. He’s a tough customer. Fans found that out last season during the Clemson game in the Sugar Bowl. Despite some rough hits, he stayed in and ended up throwing six touchdowns. Playing through pain is nothing new to him. The obvious goal for him and the Bears are finding ways to limit the number of hits he takes. That will hopefully come with more time.