Justin Fields sophomore season is officially over before Week 18
By Peter Jurich
On Wednesday, Coach Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears announced that quarterback Justin Fields will miss Sunday’s Week 18 game versus the Minnesota Vikings, ending his second season in the NFL.
Justin Fields breakout season ends short of Week 18
Fields is not just sitting out of the semi-meaningless divisional game, as he is experiencing a hip strain as revealed through an MRI, per Coach Eberflus. It is more than fair for the front office and coaching staff to be careful with Fields, and while all playing time is valuable for a young, second-year player, his long-term health is more important going forward as the franchise’s QB1.
In 15 games this season, Fields accumulated 2,242 passing yards with 17 passing touchdowns as well as 1,143 yards with eight touchdowns on the ground. Fields exploded this season as a rusher, seemingly breaking records every week down the stretch en route to becoming just the third quarterback all-time to rush for 1,000 or more yards in a season.
As a passer, Fields made strides compared to his rookie season. As a rookie, Fields averaged 180 passing yards with 0.7 TDs and 1 INT per game. In his second season, he averaged 150 yards in the air with 1.1 TDs and 0.7 INTs per game. Despite a decrease in average yardage, there is a clear increase as an efficient passer with more touchdowns and fewer interceptions thrown. This is also reflected in a slight increase in pass completion percentage from 58% to 60% in 2022.
With Fields not suiting up this Sunday, he will finish just 63 rushing yards shy of Lamar Jackson’s single-season quarterback rushing record. It is important to note that Fields’ total this season and Jackson’s record in 2019 both came in only 15 games.
While Justin Fields will not be participating in the final regular season game, he has done more than enough this season to not only ensure his role as a starter for next season but to demand the front office to continue to build around him and provide him with more NFL-caliber weapons.
Fields’ absence this Sunday means that backup Nathan Peterman will serve as the starter against the Vikings. For draft seeding purposes, it is beneficial for the Bears to lose, as a loss ensures that Chicago gets a top-two pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.