Which Chicago Bears players laid duds vs. Texans?
The Chicago Bears did enough in this game to win at home against the Houston Texans by a score of 23-20. It was a game the team should have won, so Matt Eberflus and the rest of the staff should be content with the team for coming away with a win. Still, there are some real areas of concern to address, starting with the quarterback position.
The Chicago Bears have failed in the passing game so far
Chicago Bears Dud No.1: Justin Fields, QB
Some have been calling for QB1 Justin Fields to be on this list for a couple of weeks now, and I have hesitated to put him on here considering the conditions of both games. After his performance against a less-than-average Houston Texans defense, we have to put some of the blame on Fields.
Fields barely got over 100 yards and has passed for less than 300 yards combined through the first three weeks. For a team that is looking to build and grow every week, these numbers are very scary. In Week 1, he actually played decent enough and was one of the reasons the team won that game. Then last week it was a very hostile environment and the playbook seemed very minuscule. The Packers’ defense suffocated the Bears in the passing game and there were little Fields could do about it. It seems that his best game this year was during a monsoon, and everything after has been regression.
Now, after seeing his mistakes and misreads against the Texans, there are no more excuses left. Fields is not confident or comfortable right now and it shows. He is seeing things too late and not taking what the defense gives him. Everyone has been mad at Eberflus and Luke Getsy for not passing the ball more, but when they do things have looked awful.
Fields threw two terrible interceptions that almost cost the Bears the game today and he missed too many open receivers. His pocket awareness has not gotten better either. While some of it is on his teammates and the lack of talent on the offense, he has to be able to hit the easy ones.
The first pick he threw was to an open Cole Kmet where he just did not put the ball in a good spot. The second pick he threw was to a covered Darnell Mooney over the middle on a third-down play. He had Kmet wide open for a checkdown on that play but opted to force the ball into a crowded area instead. Fields is going to have to learn how to checkdown when needed and know when to take his shots. It seems like he is forcing the ball deep sometimes and it is not working.
The coaches have to work with him to design a better scheme because so far it has failed. The run game has worked wonders this season, and it should be a lot easier to pass the ball considering how defenses have to respect the ground game. Things have to be changed quickly or the Chicago Bears are going to stall out, and it starts with necessary improvement from Justin Fields.