No more excuses for Justin Fields in Week 3 vs Texans
No more excuses. Justin Fields needs to start impressing us with his play on the field and it needs to start in Week 3 vs. the Houston Texans. The Chicago Bears are off to a 1-1 start — something not many people saw coming with the 49ers and Packers slated to kickstart the season. Week 3 was penciled in as a potential win though, and Justin Fields needs to start showing us more than what we have seen over the first two weeks of the year.
In Week 1, the Chicago Bears and 49ers played in what looked like a monsoon on the field. This obviously limited Justin Fields’ play. He still came away with two touchdowns in the game, but he completed less than 50% of his passes and only threw for 121 yards. In Week 2, it is hard to get a read on his growth and development when he only attempts 11 passes.
We must expect better from Justin Fields in Week 3 vs. the Texans
If we count dropbacks that were sacks or Justin Fields decided to run with the football, then I saw 18 passing attempts. I don’t think that’s enough attempts, but when the running game is working the way it was last Sunday night, it’s difficult to throw the ball consistently. This isn’t all on Justin Fields or Luke Getsy, but I do believe a more balanced attack could have helped.
The bigger problem though is that Justin Fields left too many plays on the field. Plays that could have led to big gains or potentially even touchdowns. For example, Fields hits Equanimeous St. Brown for a 30-yard gain thanks to a flea flicker. The throw went for about 12-14 yards and St. Brown gains another 15ish yards after the catch.
It was a great play and it leads to a touchdown on this drive anyway. However, if we are being picky, Fields had a touchdown throw to Darnell Mooney deep on the right hash on a go route. Fields looked right, then back left before throwing to St. Brown. It worked out well, but we need to expect better.
In Justin Fields’ second series, on the very first play, he makes the right decision to step up in the pocket. He has a few options to throw to with Cole Kmet sitting down in the zone on the left hash and David Montgomery going out into the flat on the right. Rather than throw it to either player, he decides to try and run to the outside. This leads to a fumble that was luckily recovered by the Bears. Again, just another example of how we must expect better from Justin Fields.
Another example is when Justin Fields scrambles forward and throws a dart to Equanimeous St. Brown. Unfortunately, he goes two yards past the line of scrimmage. He had the ability to throw it sooner, but he held onto it too long — something that he has struggled with even in college. There are a few more examples throughout the Packers game where Fields just missed opportunities. He has the ability to make elite throws, he needs to start doing it more consistently.
I still think Fields has the ability and ceiling to be a top-five quarterback in the league. However, we need to see more consistency and this has to start showing up against one of the weakest teams he will face in 2022. No more excuses.