Chicago Bears: Despite Loss, Offense Looks Different With Fields

Despite losing another game, the Chicago Bears offense looks so much better with Justin Fields at the helm and the future is bright.

The Chicago Bears lost another game on Sunday, going down to the Green Bay Packers 28-19. They lost their ninth game in their last 10 and sixth in a row. Additionally, they lost their eighth consecutive game against the Packers and their 13th in 14 tries.

In spite of all that, what we saw on Sunday was how much different the Chicago Bears offense looks when quarterback Justin Fields leads it.

We saw how the offense struggled last week in Fields’ absence. In the five games he played prior to the Week 11 game against the Atlanta Falcons (the game in which he looked slower than usual before the injury), the offense under Fields averaged 385.6 total yards and 26.2 points per game.

When Fields missed last week’s game against the New York Jets, the offense struggled. The Bears finished the game with 288 total yards of offense. Of that, backup quarterback Trevor Siemian had 116 passing yards alone in just the first quarter. It was a brutal second half for the Bears as they got blown out 31-10.

Against the Packers, the Bears had 409 total yards of offense.

Fields waved his magic wand again. He had a beautiful 55-yard touchdown run in which Packers defenders thought they had him down a couple of times. It was the sixth straight game in which he had a touchdown run.

It will be so great to see how general manager Ryan Poles surrounds Fields with players this offseason. The wide receivers unit has not done a good job of getting open on passes.

For example, we saw on Fields’ first interception how the receivers have been a letdown. Jaire Alexander jumped the pass and basically sealed the victory for Green Bay. However, when looking at the replay, Equanemious St. Brown ran a bad route. At the end of the route, he turned in a way that gave Alexander a clear path to the ball. Alexander took advantage and got the interception.

One of the criticisms of Fields this season is how he doesn’t seem to trust his receivers. Receivers at the pro level won’t always be wide open so even if there is a small window Fields needs to make the throw and trust his receivers to make a play. That’s what he did on this throw and St. Brown failed to make the play and allowed the interception to happen.

This is likely why Fields doesn’t trust his receivers. They cannot get open and when they are relatively open they cannot make the play at the ball.

With the Bears having the most salary cap space in the league next offseason (by a lot as the next team has over $46 million less in cap space), and likely plenty of draft picks to use, Poles will be able to speed up the rebuild and field a competitive team in 2023.

For now, however, we have to suffer through another four games. This week they have a much-needed bye. They can regroup and rest their mounting injuries and try to have a good showing in the final month of the season.

What we do know, though, is that the Chicago Bears have their franchise quarterback. It makes the rebuild so much easier when the most important piece is already in place.