If you have not been following the Chicago Bears media, the big story they are discussing right now is the lack of pass attempts from Justin Fields. Fields had 17 in week one, then had just 11 in a week two loss.
As the media often does, they are now looking to create a narrative to explain the reasoning for this. Surely, the Chicago Bears have no faith that Justin Fields can throw the ball, right?
While that is easy to say on the surface, it is also easy to look into the two games that Justin Fields and understand why his pass attempts are so low.
Why Justin Fields is not passing for Chicago Bears
The first reason in week one should be obvious. If anyone watched the game, they saw why the team did not pass for themselves. That is because it was a monsoon. Asking Justin Fields to throw in those conditions is not smart. Beyond that, they were leading in the second half. This one is very easy.
Okay, let’s get into the real issue, then. They trailed against Green Bay, the weather was completely fine, it has to be a lack of trust, right?
The biggest thing going against the Chicago Bears was actually how long the Packers possessed the football. The Packers had the ball for 37 minutes, while the Bears were closer to 23. So, the team had an insanely low snap count overall.
The Packers had five drives that went ten plays or more. They kept the ball and never let Chicago get into a rhythm. If there is one thing to blame for Justin Fields not throwing more, you can blame the defense for never being able to get off of the field. They also got torched on the ground, so the clock would not stop.
Still, the Bears had eight possessions, why not throw it more? The other thing is that the run game was dominant. They had 180 yards on 27 carries, and most of what was dragging that down were Fields scrambles.
Everyone wants to kill the Bears for going run heavy on their final drive, a drive that ended on the 1-yard line. Still, the team had six rushes for 90 yards to get into the red zone, did you really want them to stop picking up yards in chunks of 20? This worked.
The team was a yard away from scoring, and if they did, they would have been down seven points with close to eight minutes to go in the game. The thought would have been that they battled back despite hardly being on the field.
While the last touchdown Green Bay scored does not make it look nearly this close, had that drive paid off, you probably would not be hearing about the run-heavy drive, but rather about the resilient Bears who made things tight late.
In the first game, the weather was an obvious issue. In the second, Green Bay possessed the ball a ton, and when Chicago ran the ball they had immense success. These two reasons make a lot more sense than a lack of trust in Justin Fields.
If David Montgomery has 10 rushes for 20 yards, and they are running him into a wall instead of passing, I could get behind the narrative, but for now, it is just that.