Chicago Bears: Is The New Regime Down On Justin Fields?

After another embarrassing loss, the question of whether this new regime has faith in Justin Fields has to be addressed.

There was so much hope among Chicago Bears fans that the offense might have turned a corner after a terrific second half against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5. Facing a Washington Commanders team that had multiple troubles both on and off the field, the game should have provided the Bears with more positive vibes.

Instead, the questions continue to pile up. The offense took a step back on Thursday night. Despite amassing almost 400 total yards of offense (392), the Bears only managed to score seven points.

The Bears reached the red zone three times in the game but came away with zero points. The only touchdown scored was on a beautiful connection by Justin Fields while under tremendous pressure to Dante Pettis for 40 yards.

One of the reasons the Chicago Bears had success in Week 5 was because of the short and medium passes called. Those screens, curls, and slants get the ball out quickly and are high-percentage passes. With those throws, Fields gets into a good rhythm and good things happen.

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The Bears move away from what was successful

There weren’t many of those called on Thursday night. David Montgomery, who made a big impact on the game last week by making four catches for 62 yards, was not involved in the passing game against Washington. He was targeted only once, successfully making the catch for 13 yards, but that was it. He did add 67 rushing yards.

Why would offensive coordinator Luke Getsy go away from what was successful?

It appears as if Getsy has the same affliction former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy had — he is trying to make Fields fit his system instead of tweaking his system to utilize Fields’ skillset.

Getsy seems to want Fields to be a pocket passer and not use his legs much. Why that is the case is a mystery. Fields can use his legs to buy time. The Bears have a struggling offensive line so why not do something to alleviate that problem?

Getsy needs to call more rollouts and use more play-action passes. Fields has shown that he is an incredibly accurate passer when throwing on the run. However, Getsy keeps the leash on Fields and just wants him to stay in the pocket.

Additionally, there could be more designed quarterback runs. Fields is such a great athlete that he can make big plays. He did exactly that late in the game.

On the Bears’ final drive, Fields scrambled and got loose. He ran for 39 yards to the Commanders’ 5. Of course, that wasn’t a designed play. If Getsy calls more of those runs Fields can really hurt defenses.

All these plays hurt the Vikings’ defense in Week 5 and succeeded when called in Week 6. The problem is that those plays called were too few and far between.

Does the new regime value Fields?

One of the most outrageous ideas this past offseason was the question of whether the new regime values FIelds the same way the old one did. General manager Ryan Poles did not draft Fields so he has no ties to him. His analysis of Fields could be very different than what former general manager Ryan Pace had.

We already saw accusations of the new regime undervaluing the players. Linebacker Roquan Smith had contentious negotiations with Poles and said that he wasn’t valued.

The new front office regime doesn’t value me here. They’ve refused to negotiate in good faith…

If Poles sees something different from one of the top linebackers in the NFL, would it be a stretch to think he values Fields differently as well?

Head coach Matt Eberflus has been quiet on Fields. It’s understandable that he wants to be hands-off and just wants to oversee things, but he needs to step in and get things back on track. There is a good plan there that could help win games. He needs to make sure that Getsy calls the plays that succeed more consistently and not get away from what works.

Fields came with such high hopes for Chicago Bears Nation. With his struggles this season, Fields has taken a shot at his reputation. There is a growing number of fans (though they are still a small minority) who are questioning whether Fields is the guy to lead the rebuild. With that happening, parting ways with him is easier for Poles.

Now, I’m not saying that the Chicago Bears are intentionally sabotaging Fields. What they are doing, however, is making things difficult for him. They see what has been working yet they suddenly go away from it. Why would they do that?

In the process of the inconsistency of play-calling, Chicago’s offense is paying the price. The Bears average 15.5 points per game this season. With Nagy, the fans were up in arms because they couldn’t score points. Well, the Bears averaged 18.3 points per game.

In addition, the Bears rank last in passing yards, 30th in passing touchdowns, 28th in net yards per pass attempt, and 21st in interceptions.

Last offseason the thought of the Chicago Bears wanting to part ways with Fields was ridiculous. Today, that thought is legitimate.