Justin Fields finally crossed a crucial need off his list of things to do to prove that he can be the Chicago Bears quarterback moving forward. Fields has had the ball with a chance to win the game countless times, and he finally gave the Bears a field goal to win it on Monday.
Still, as the Bears head into their bye week, there will be five more games where we need to see the best Justin Fields has ever played. What are the most important things we have to see in this time?
3. Justin Fields must continue to limit sacks for the Chicago Bears
It is clear that Justin Fields heard the talk about what Tyson Bagent could do better than him when he injured his thumb. Bagent did not bring much spark to the offense, but because he reduced negative plays, the Bears got to 2-2 when he started. Justin Fields left his week six games with the lowest pressure-to-sack rate of his career, but it was still over 20%. That stat is vital because it cannot be blamed on the offensive line; it is about how often you succumb to the bad offensive line.
For comparison, Bagent was at 9.4%. Fields does not have to get that low because he brings so many more big plays, but he had to reduce the number of times he was sacked. So far, he has. Against Detroit, he had a 14.3% pressure-to-sack rate, and against Minnesota, it was 13.6%.
These are the third and fourth-lowest rates in a game through his entire career and the two best games of his season. It is also the best two-game run of his career, where his pressure-to-sack rate currently sits at 13.9%.
The Chicago Bears can live with this, though it is more than 10 percent below his career rate. Can Justin Fields finish closer to 12 percent than 20 percent the rest of the way? That would show he is making sustained improvement.