3 notable differences from Justin Fields to Andy Dalton with Chicago Bears

Rushes and Designed Runs

Nobody is going to be shocked to see that Justin Fields is running the football more than Andy Dalton. Still, this once again speaks to how different the offense is with the two going back and forth. Lineman have to hold their blocks longer for Fields, but they also know that Fields is going to add more runs, which helps lineman.

On the season 8% of Justin Fields plays have been designed runs. On the flip side, just 1% of all the plays Andy Dalton is on the field lead to a designed run. Beyond that, Fields scrambles 12% of the time, while Andy Dalton scrambles just 5% of the time.

Adding this up shows that 20% of the offensive snaps by Justin Fields lead to a rush by him. On the flip side, only 6% of Dalton snaps lead to runs.

None of this is groundbreaking, but it once again speaks to the idea that you cannot just look at the raw stats of Dalton and Fields to compare the two. The two are entirely different players and the offense has to run differently depending on which is on the field. Dalton is safe, conservative, getting the ball out and not running while Fields holds the ball, pushes it down field, and makes plays with his legs.