Face it, all Chicago Bears fans came into the 2021 season with a similar mentality. They knew that wins would be tough to come by and that while the record is all that matters, the development of rookie quarterback Justin Fields is arguably just as important for this particular team.
Last week Justin Fields ran for 100 yards for the first time and it started to look like the offense was coming alive. On Monday night, Fields had one of the best performances of his career by taking on a strong Steelers defense on the road and recording a drive that put his team ahead late in the fourth.
Fields posted a career-high 291 yards through the air tonight. He made huge plays moving to his left and turning his shoulder and making strong throws that not many quarterbacks make. He made plays off script and extended the play in muddy pockets that had Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt swarming around him.
He made the big deep pass to Marquise Goodwin and later hit Allen Robinson. Of course, he had the big pass to Darnell Mooney. The fact that he was able to spread the ball around, make plays deep, short, with his legs, and of course in the clutch.
The reality is that the losses now make the chances that the Bears will hire a new coach more likely. The play by Fields now makes this job one of the most enticing across the entire league.
You saw with the Chargers something similar. Last season they lost a handful of close games, and this year they have the hot new head coach and are competing in the division. This seems to be a pat that Chicago is closer to than Patrick Mahomes with Alex Smith. It seems like at the end of the day, despite the loss last night was a success.
The Chicago Bears learned a lot about their quarterback, and the outcome did not matter.