Loss that Hurts No. 1: Week 3 – Chicago Bears @ Cleveland Browns
While there’s a lot to talk about in this game, let’s take a moment of silence for Justin Fields’ life during this game.
In his first career start in the NFL, I wouldn’t have blamed Justin Fields if he packed it up then and called it a career. There isn’t a worse introduction to the NFL than what Justin Fields was handed.
The Browns sacked Justin Fields nine times. Let me repeat that — nine times. Four and a half sacks coming from Myles Garrett alone. Had he led the league in sacks this year, the Chicago Bears should’ve gotten part of the award.
Justin Fields had 68 passing yards and lost 67 yards due to sacks. He had 1 net passing yard on 29 dropbacks, which is absurd.
— Football Perspective (@fbgchase) September 27, 2021
Since 1980, there have been 13 games where a QB averaged less than 0.25 Net Yards per Attempt in a game on 15+ pass attempts... and none since '04. pic.twitter.com/5WDrGSW8E3
Along with being sacked nine times total, Fields wasn’t necessarily dicing up the defense. Once the clock hit double zeroes, Justin Fields had a single net passing yard. Yep— you read that correctly, a single passing yard.
This game was historically bad for the Chicago Bears, and I personally wish it could be erased from my memory entirely. It’s a day in history that I’ll unfortunately never forget. Thankfully, Justin Fields didn’t seem to let that game define him.
Along with the pain that Justin Fields withstood that entire game, he wasn’t alone on this painful journey. The Chicago Bears not only had one single net passing yard, but the entire team essentially stayed in Chicago for the day.
Offensively, the Bears had 47 total yards. The Browns? Oh, they had 417 yards of total offense. It was what some would call: “A bloodbath.”
Chicago Bears
Passing: 1 yard
Rushing: 47 yards
Cleveland Browns
Passing: 203 yards
Rushing: 215 yards
Giving up 200+ yards on the ground and through the air is so bad it’s almost impressive. Not to mention, it was 200+ passing yards to Baker Mayfield who, no disrespect, is not among the league’s best quarterbacks.
It’s just one of those games where you try as hard as possible not to think about it because the more you remember, the more you hurt. And boy, did that one hurt.
Well, one down. Three more trips down a painful memory lane to go!