4 matchups to watch for as the Chicago Bears take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3
Matchup No. 4: Justin Fields vs. the weight of Chicago Bears history
Forget Chris Jones, forget Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and forget everyone else on the Chiefs defense. Justin Fields needs a good game, and he needs it now. The fanbase is past restless and hurtling towards panicked, and the fans need to see a sign, any sign, that Fields can be the guy.
Fields' battle to reverse decades of miserable Bears quarterback history is more uphill than the famed slope that Walter Payton used to train on, and he's being asked to do it while surrounded by one of the most talent-poor rosters in the league. Yes, D.J. Moore is now his #1 receiver, and that's no small thing. But the offensive line has offered opposing defenders less resistance than your local movie theater's turnstile, and Fields enters every game knowing he has to outpace a defense that just can't stop anybody.
If I was asked to shoulder the expectations of America's third-largest city while saddled with an uninspiring coaching staff and a C-level roster, I think I might freeze up and miss some throws, too. Fields is being asked to do the impossible every week, and unsurprisingly for a third-year quarterback without much help, he hasn't been able to do it.
If there's any positive to be had from the season's first two wretched weeks, it's that Bears fans now have more realistic expectations. We're no longer saying playoffs or bust, and we're not harboring fantasies of beating the Packers, Lions, and Vikings for the NFC North title.
All we need is a glimmer from Justin Fields, and we can put up with the rest. The defense can give up 30 points a game, the coaching staff can lead us to ruin, and all will be forgiven if Justin Fields gives us a few plays a week that says, "I'm the man, and the future is bright." Get your throws out on time. Don't take bad sacks. Don't stare down receivers and throw bad interceptions. Make some plays with your legs.
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This matchup feels like when Rick Moranis' Little Giants got ready to take on Ed O'Neill's Cowboys. "Even if they'd beat you 99 times out of 100, that still leaves one time." No Bears fan is expecting a win on Sunday. We'd just like to see a little progress, especially from QB1.