The Chicago Bears finished off the preseason by giving plenty of their backups and end of the roster players time to put their finishing stamp on their status. With that in mind, we may not have learned who the new breakup player is, but we did learn who solidified jobs, and who has chances to move up and down the depth chart.
Who were five players that used this last game to boost their stock heading into the year?
5. Joel Iyiegbuniwe
In what may have ended up as his last game as a member of the 53-man roster Iggy left it on the field and had his best game. He was excellent in coverage, breaking up multiple passes including one in the end zone.
Iggy has also been a steady rock on special teams and that has been throughout the preseason. However, while he balled out, the Bear gave Alec Ogletree the evening off, almost solidifying his standing.
Christian Jones worked ahead of Iggy although they played beside each other much of the night. Still, it does look like Iggy beat out Josh Woods for the number five spot, the question now is just whether the number five-man will make the team.
He should be a priority for the practice squad, for what that is worth.
4. Jesper Horsted
A snag on the sidelines for six from Justin Fields, and a late-game catch and run that made highlight reels was enough to add Horsted to this list. Horsted put on a show and went from start to finish to really make a case for the roster.
Horsted exploded onto the scene out of nowhere in 2019, but after an emphasis on tight end in 2020, he stayed on the practice squad. Now, he is making a case for the roster again.
You hate to see someone lose a job to injury, but we have not seen much of JP Holtz, who made the roster over Horsted last season. Horsted has balled out since and is likely going to get that fourth spot over Holtz.
3. Marqui Christian
Did Christian solidify a roster spot? The Chicago Bears almost always keep five safeties, and behind Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, they have Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson. Then, there is a battle for safety five.
It started with Jordan Lucas, who is now banged up. Jalen Tabor had a nice camp but faded against Tennessee. Christian has been consistent and versatile, which goes a long way.
Christain has played deep, in the box, in the slot, and of course on special teams. Christian played nearly a full game on Saturday, in an effort that may have locked down his spot.
Seeing them use him in so many manners and seeing him go the full game has to give them confidence as depth in a lot of areas. He is one of those players that likely won a job this weekend.
2. Trevis Gipson
Trevis Gipson has been trending up from the day he stepped foot onto camp. He dominated all three preseason games and had possibly his best game in the last game. The Chicago Bears needed to find a hit like Gipson, and Ryan Pace has been pretty good at developing these mid-round picks.
Still, after a year of noting it was questionable what he would bring. Now, there is a chance he will be getting starters snaps by the end of the year. What is great about Gipson is that he has always defended the run well. That can get him on the field.
Now, this year we are seeing a strong Gipson and that has shown in his ability to beat tackles in pass rush. Gipson taking a huge step as a pass rusher came at the right time and everything he did this summer shows a player that should see the field more in 2021.
1. Justin Fields
You cannot have a list after that game and forget about Justin Fields. To be fair, he took his lumps, especially early. However, you have to love his poise and ability to rebound from the rocky start.
He won the night during his two-minute drill. After a few plays to lead them to the red zone Fields unleashed a dart 20 yards into the arms of Horsted for a touchdown.
Those are the moments everyone needs to see from Justin Fields. To start, the bounce back. Then, performing late in the half to put points up. From there we saw mobility, pocket awareness, arm strength, accuracy.
Andy Dalton has the starting job but everything we saw says that this is not the last that we will see Justin Fields in 2021.