Justin Fields’ homecoming headlines Chicago Bears showdown vs Falcons
By Peter Jurich
Through ten weeks of the Chicago Bears 2022 season, the biggest storyline by far is the emergence of quarterback Justin Fields. After trading away defensive veterans at the deadline, the focus of the team for this year and the rebuild, in general, is the development of the young, dual-threat quarterback.
Coming off of back-to-back games scoring four total touchdowns, Justin Fields has put the league on notice and has gained attention as one of the best young, offensive talents in the NFL. As Fields looks to continue his production and potentially win a game versus a struggling Falcons team, Sunday’s matchup will serve as some sort of homecoming for the former 11th-overall pick.
Chicago Bears QB, Justin Fields grew up a fan of ex-Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick
Born in Kennesaw, Georgia, a suburb about 25 miles away from downtown Atlanta, Justin Fields is familiar with the Falcons organization — growing up as a fan of the team. Fields, who was born in 1999, may have been too young to remember Michael Vick suiting up for the Falcons between 2001 and 2006, but has mentioned before how much Vick inspired him as a child and still influences his play today.
After beating Michael Vick’s record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a regular season game last Sunday versus the Dolphins, Justin Fields mentioned in an interview that “I remember being 8 years old, wearing his cleats… [he’s] definitely one of the most electric players I’ve seen in my lifetime”.
Growing up as both a Falcons and Michael Vick fan, Fields started at quarterback in his final two years at Harrison High School in Kennesaw. In those two seasons, Fields accumulated nearly 4200 passing yards, nearly 2100 rushing yards, and 69 total touchdowns. After an electric high school career, Fields committed to the University of Georgia, staying close to home to compete for an SEC championship.
Justin Fields only played at Georgia for one season as a true freshman, seeing sparse playing time backing up Jake Fromm. With the writing on the wall that Fromm would continue to be the starting quarterback heading into 2019, as well as an allegedly racially driven incident with members of the University of Georgia baseball team, Fields transferred to Ohio State University. Here he became an elite talent behind center and eventually became the Chicago Bears first-round pick in 2021.
As Justin Fields prepares for his first game against the Falcons and a game in Atlanta at that, there will surely be hometown family and friends in support of the young Bears’ quarterback. Hopefully, Fields can continue to channel his childhood hero Michael Vick and provide the offense with another elite game on the ground.