Rejoice, Bears fans! It finally happened! Matt Nagy has finally named Justin Field as the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback.
Big Announcement
On Wednesday, Nagy made the big announcement, something that Bears fans across the country have been asking for for a long time. “He’s done everything to show us that he’s ready for this opportunity,” Nagy said, “We’ve grown with him, we’re proud of Justin. He’s been a great teammate from the very beginning.”
Throughout the preseason and the first couple weeks of the regular season, it seemed like Nagy was pretty set in keeping Andy Dalton as his starting quarterback. In the second week, Dalton sustained a knee injury, and Fields was forced to step in for him.
Rough Start
However, Fields got off to a rough start. After Dalton got injured early in the second quarter, Fields entered the game, completing less than half of his passes, throwing for only 60 yards, and also throwing an interception. His performance almost cost the Bears a win.
The next week’s game against the Cleveland Browns proved to be even worse for Fields. In his very first career NFL start, he was sacked a whopping nine times, and the Bears generated only 47 yards offensively. They lost that game 6-36.
The Turn Around
However, Fields was able to turn it around in Week 4, completing 11 of 17 passes and throwing for 209 yards, and leading the Bears to a 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions. Fields played with intelligence, connecting with wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Allen Robinson multiple times for over 100 yards.
Fields’ performance in this game was the cherry on top. It was exactly what Nagy wanted to see, and it was exactly what Nagy needed to see. It finally convinced him to make the decision to officially make Fields the Bears’ starting quarterback.
Surprising News
This news came as a little bit of a surprise, as Nagy said on Monday that Dalton would remain the team’s starter, and he would start as soon as he was physically able. Dalton was medically cleared for a full practice on Wednesday, but it was announced earlier that Nagy had changed course and named Fields as his starter.
This is a decision that, arguably, should have been made much earlier. Bears fans have been pestering Nagy to make Fields the starter ever since they drafted him.
To me, it’s crazy that it took the Bears two weeks to see that Fields was the man for the job. He struggled in his first games, but it seems that he has been able to find his rhythm as of late.
I think that once Fields gets some more starting experience, and once he works out some kinks, he will be a solid starting quarterback. With a 2-2 record, the Bears are currently second in the NFC North, with their major completion being the Green Bay Packers, who are 3-1.
If the Bears hope to stay competitive in that division, Justin Fields will have to figure it out and step it up.
I think he will. With time.
