Fields slid for just a 1-yard gain, and rookie linebacker Jack Campbell put his full body weight on the Bears’ quarterback. Fields immediately looked at the ref and put his hands up. Cole Kmet and DJ Moore, who were to Fields’ left, clearly wanted a flag thrown on the play.

There wasn’t one, and that’s something Fields has grown used to since he was drafted in 2021. Fields has only received eight roughing the passer calls in 36 games played and none have been called in 2023.

• 2022 (5): two vs. the 49ers in Week 1, one vs. the Texans in Week 3, one vs. the Giants in Week 4, one vs. the Cowboys in Week 8
• 2021 (3): two vs. the Raiders in Week 5, one vs. the 49ers in Week 8

Fields has also only received three unnecessary roughness calls: one against the Giants in 2022, one against the Packers in 2021(which was offset by a Bears penalty) and one more against the Vikings in 2021.

The lack of late-hit penalties don’t go unnoticed, though.

Jaquan Brisker, who has never been shy to voice his opinions, was asked for his reaction on Monday when he sees Fields get hit and there is no penalty flag thrown.

“If it was us, they would be throwing it,” Brisker said. “It wouldn’t even be a reaction, they would just throw it. So I just think they should treat him fair. He’s a quarterback. I know he is 230 (pounds) and he run a 4.3, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s still a quarterback and we have to protect him. It’s disappointing.

“Obviously, the other team is being told to do dirty stuff after the play hit him like this certain way. It’s obviously being told by the way they have been treating him these last couple of weeks.

“A lot of shots to the head and it’s very disappointing seeing a guy like that get hit and take hits like that, and one of those hits, you know God forbid, could be something very bad. I think the league needs to get on that and notice that. It’s bad.”

Brisker accused opposing teams of being “told to do dirty stuff after the play.” The second-year safety was asked a follow up question about if he thinks it’s systematic that other teams are being coached to hit Fields hard or late.

“Yeah, you can just tell,” Brisker said. “Like Coach Flus he doesn’t tell us to do anything like that, but you can just tell the way they just hit him after the play .. you can just tell how they’re just trying to tug and try to do whatever they can to get him out of the game. It’s obvious. It’s obvious. All them head shots yesterday, all them late hits, trying to mess with his hand and things like that. It’s obvious, so the league just has to, you know, protect the quarterback and we’re going to protect ours at all times, so.”

Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned on Monday that he is “very active” and always in the ref’s ears when it comes to petitioning to protect the quarterback. Eberflus said he wasn’t happy about the play with Campbell and that he let the official know about it.

There were also some questionable hits on Fields in the first matchup against the Lions at Ford Field.

Like most of the other instances, Fields did not get a flag on the hits.

“That’s just what the Lions do — they play hard,” Fields said following the Week 11 loss to Detroit. “We knew that coming in that week the kind of effort and toughness and grit they play with. Their head coach preaches that. We kinda knew it was gonna be that type of game. I was talking to the ref and just asked, like telling him like, ‘yo, just watch out. Heads up for a late hit’ or something like that. I guess I didn’t get any. Keep playing ball and control what I can control.”

With four games still remaining in the regular season, that means there are still chances Fields will be susceptible to taking late hits. So, it will be up to everyone on the Bears to make sure the officials are well aware of how the 24-year-old quarterback is being treated.

But the Chicago Bears found themselves in that situation with 1:36 left remaining in the third quarter. After Justin Fields was able to avoid a sack on third down, the offense lined up on fourth-and-13 at the Detroit 38-yard line.

Fields lined up the shotgun with Khalil Herbert to his left. Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney and Tyler Scott lined up in trips to the right and DJ Moore was isolated on the opposite side. Fields used a hard count, and Aidan Hutchinson went offside. Fields and the offense recognized that critical mistake by the Lions and capitalized with a 38-yard strike to Moore for a touchdown.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus credited Fields with his throw and Moore with his catch on the play, and also acknowledged the quick reaction to exploit the slower reaction from the Lions’ defensive line.

But there was one key detail that made the play work.

“It’s Justin. It’s the hard count,” Eberflus said. “He did a really good job of hard counting and just a really good job there, and they got them to jump. His use of cadence. That’s what it was.”

The Bears went on to score on the next two offensive drives with a touchdown and field goal, and kept the Lions scoreless in the second half to help Chicago secure a 28-13 victory at Soldier Field.

Kmet said Fields had a “hell of a cadence” on that play. He was lined up to the left of Mooney in the slot, and Kmet even signaled to Mooney like he was going to switch routes, while the offensive line did a good of selling like they were adjusting the protection. Still, Kmet was surprised with what happened.

“I was shocked, shocked, shocked,” Kmet said in the locker room after the game. “Yeah, we all know like okay if they do jump, we all know what we’re getting to. But, yeah, fourth-and-13, we’re at around the 50, yeah it’s kinda like prime take a delay.”

Fields said during his postgame press conference that to sell that type of play is to “treat it like a normal play,” but it also helps that this wasn’t the first time the Bears have been in that situation.

“I mean, it’s not a challenge because we practice it multiple times a week,” Fields said. “We’re used to it. Might have happened like three times this week during practice and walk-throughs. Like I said, we practice it. It happens every week, and the guys are ready for it, and we executed it. It ended up being a big play.”

Lucas Patrick described the fourth-down play as “a master of situational ball.” After Moore caught the ball, he ran through the end zone and into the tunnel, and his teammates were there to celebrate with him.

“It feels good,” Patrick said. “This game is all about one guy doing their job out of 11. If everybody does their job, that’s what happens. The way we practice, the way this locker room has come together, the way we believe in everything no matter what is happening outside, everybody does their job, we see what happens. It’s a good feeling. It’s trust and this locker room trusts each other.”

Execution, trust and communication all showed up on Fields’ touchdown pass to Moore, and it took all 11 members of the offense to make it happen.

The Bears have now won back-to-back games for the first time since Eberflus took over as head coach. There is not just trust in the Bears’ locker room, but also momentum and that is something new for the team as Chicago prepares for its final four games of the regular season.

That mindset is consistent with the 24-year-old quarterback as he prepares for the final five games of the 2023 regular season. But there is a lot on the line for Fields and his play could determine what ultimately happens once the season concludes.

The Bears currently hold the No. 1 overall pick thanks to Carolina and Chicago only has four wins through 13 weeks. Fields has had his ups and downs this season, which creates uncertainty as to what general manager Ryan Poles will do moving forward.

Given the Bears’ current position in the draft, selecting a rookie quarterback could be a realistic option. That’s been a heavily discussed topic outside of Halas Hall, and Fields was asked on Wednesday if he thinks it’s fair that people are factoring the team’s draft position, the quarterbacks in the class and how his performance in these last five games could play into his future with the team.

“Yeah, I mean, life isn’t fair,” Fields said. “So me personally, I’m just focused on what I can control, and the rest is in God’s hands. Really you just put everything in God’s hands and you know it’s going to turn out good for you. Wherever, if I’m here next year, if I’m not, football doesn’t define who I am as a person. My happiness will still be in the same place, will still be in God. And really just football wise, life stuff in general, I think my faith in God, my hope in God is just so much more than anything that can be thrown at me on this earth.

Yeah, I mean, that’s why I don’t really stress over stuff like that, over stuff that I can’t control. I know that God’s got me and I’m going to be good. I’m very blessed in the position I am in, and I think a million people would love to be in the position I am right now. So really just, I’m not taking that for granted and just taking each and every moment I have every day up here to the fullest.”

This isn’t the first time Fields has mentioned his faith in God. One of the other many examples was in a interview with GQ Sports that was released in April. Fields highlighted the top 10 things he can’t live without and mentioned his first essential is the Bible app. Fields said he uses it to get his day started, and he also has 1 John 1:9 tattooed on his chest: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Even though there is outside noise surrounding Fields, he has his faith to guide him and puts his focus on what he can control. Right now he can control how he plays in these final five games, starting with the rematch against the Detroit Lions. Fields wants to personally work on his overall consistency and also how the team finishes after the defense creates a turnover.

In the last two games, the Bears have created eight turnovers, but only have 13 points to show for the impact plays.

“I mean, the mindset is just score,” Fields said. “Of course, the better we play complementary football, the better we give our team a chance to win. Of course, we want to capitalize on those moments when the defense does give us a short field or we do have a sudden-change moment where they get a turnover or something like that. We definitely want to start turning those into touchdowns and at least three points. Yeah, definitely, we’ve got to do a better job with that, for sure.”

With five games left, Fields will focus on scoring touchdowns and doing whatever he can to add to the Bears overall win total. The rest he will leave to a higher power.

It all comes down to execution — something that Bears head coach Matt Eberflus constantly brings up in his weekly press conferences.

In the 12-10 victory against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football, the Bears defense had its best overall execution of the season. They limited the Vikings to 242 yards of total offense, Joshua Dobbs threw four interceptions and Minnesota went just 2 of 9 on third down.

It was a defensive clinic that had plenty of highlight caliber plays throughout the night.

There was a key play, though, that easily went overlooked.

After Justin Fields’ second fumble in the fourth quarter, the Vikings took over on the Bears’ 43-yard line, holding a 10-9 lead with 3:37 left in the game. The first play was a run to Alexander Mattison up the middle for no gain.

The second down play is the one that got away from Minnesota.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell highlighted the Mattison run that only gained one yard in his postgame press conference.

“They were in base defense, they loaded up the box pretty good,” O’Connell said. “Thought we had a chance on the second down play to maybe try to see if we could attack the edge. It looked a little weak over there, but they were able to turn the ball back up inside. We weren’t able to at least get it into that range where you start thinking about giving Greg (Joseph) an opportunity. …”

Film Breakdown

To help provide analysis with the second-and-10 run, I reached out to former Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long and he provided an in-depth explanation on why the Vikings were unsuccessful on this play.

The Vikings are lined up in 13 personnel (one running back and three tight ends), and the Bears are in their base 4-3 defense. Justin Jones ends up making the play and tackling Mattison for just a 1-yard gain.

In this run zone scheme concept, left guard Dalton Risner originally has a 3-tech to his left, which is Jones.

Jones then reduces down to a 2i once wide receiver Jordan Addison motions down, making the Bears’ defensive lineman Risner’s responsibility.

Once Risner takes too big of an angle on Jones, the Bears’ defensive lineman falls back and returns to his 3-tech alignment.

This is where the left tackle Christain Darrisaw (No. 71) comes into play, accoding to Long. Darrisaw was originally on a B block, which is a two-man zone on the original 3-tech to the linebacker, and that is Tremaine Edmunds.

After Addison’s motion, Jones went to a 2i, so the combo for the guard and tackle is off. Long mentioned now it’s up to Darrisaw to go flat down the line as fast as he can to Jones on his way to Edmunds.

Since Jones after the snap went from his 2i alignment back to a 3-tech, Risner continues on his zone. The No. 1 rule according to Long is don’t turn back. So Darrisaw has to see that on his flat path and takeover the returning 3-tech.

Darrisaw didn’t take a good enough angle and his collision with Jones ricocheted the Bears’ defensive tackle into making a play on the running back.

The Bears then made a tackle for loss on third down and forced the Vikings to punt. Then Fields took the Bears offense down the field for the game-winning field goal.

Football is the ultimate team game, and this one rep highlights how just one player not executing their assignment can create a negative impact. Although it gets repetitive hearing Eberflus always mention the word “execution” during his press conferences, he does so because he understands the difference it can make on any given play.

Although the 12-10 win over the Vikings on Monday Night Football left a good feeling entering the Week 13 Bye, these final five games hold some serious implications for many members of the Bears organization.

At just four total wins this season and seven since Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus took over in 2022, jobs are on the line. It’s the business of the NFL and the Bears’ coach is well aware of how the league works. And with decades of experience in the NFL, pressure is something Eberflus has felt while coaching.

“Certainly you feel that during the course of my 32 years you feel it over the time,” Eberflus said. “And you just gotta put your best foot forward and just keep working and grinding and keep executing and getting the guys to focus and wire in. Being positive, also being real with the players, so they can improve. And the same way with your staff. Where we need to improve at and what we need to get better at. So that’s no different this year than any other year.”

Last season, Eberflus and Poles were actively rebuilding a roster from the last regime and only won three games, so it would’ve taken something disastrous to fire the coaching staff. Now another season into this current regime with a new president in Kevin Warren, there is no reason to assume the Bears will run things back.

Poles has backed up Eberflus openly during press conferences, but is that a reason why the second-year coach should feel safe about his job? Here is what Ebeflus had to say when he was about that on Monday.

“What you can focus on is leadership, and the first the rule of leadership is leading yourself,” Eberflus said. “Come to work every day, put the plans together — offense, defense, special teams — lead the football team, help the leadership council, lead the football team as well, because true leadership comes from within. I think that’s really what you focus on, and that’s put your best foot forward every single day.”

T.J. Edwards on rematch with Lions

Just 16 days ago, the Bears lost in a heartbreaker to the Lions at Ford Field after having a 12-point lead late in the fourth quarter.

T.J. Edwards and the rest of the Bears defense outplayed the Lions for a majority of the game. Jared Goff threw three interceptions, including one that was picked off by Edwards, but the game was won and lost at the end of the first half and the final four minutes of the game.

The Lions scored at the end of the first half on a 10-play, 75-yard drive in just 1:36. With 4:15 left in the fourth quarter, the Lions went on a 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive in 1:16. Then on the next possession, Goff led the offense on an 11-play, 73-yard touchdown scoring drive in 2:04.

Detroit scored touchdowns quickly with its two-minute offense and Chicago didn’t have any answers. Here is what Edwards said can be done in practice to simulate those two-minute game-like situations.

“A lot of it is being comfortable with the calls,” Edwards said. “It’s hard to emulate, again, that type of environment when it’s must get a stop, things like that. But I think our coaches have done a great job of trying to put us in those situations and trying to give us at least a little sneak peak of what we could see. Our coaches work hard in game planning those things. They try to give us the toughest looks, but again, they got good coaches, too, so there are gonna be some things that you haven’t seen on the film and things like that. But that’s where our rules and what we’re doing is big time. Just making sure we’re all on the same page with those things is our biggest takeaway, honestly.”

Although Edwards wishes that first 31-26 loss to the Lions ended differently, he and his teammates will get another opportunity to take down their NFC North foe at Solider Field.

“As you know, these are very important games,” Edwards said. “December football is where it’s decided. You got to go in you got to play your best ball, which I think that’s where we feel we are at right now. We got to keep getting better in every facet of the game. So we’re excited to see em but we’re excited because it’s the next game, and we know these are important games for sure.” 

Cole Kmet already in “playoff mode”

There are just five games remaining in the regular season.

The Bears currently sit at 4-8 and depending on which television broadcast you watch, Chicago may even be seen under the “In The Hunt” column.

With a hand full of games remaining on the schedule, Kmet is treating this final stretch like he is already in the postseason.

“Look, we finish these five out here,” Kmet said. “Obviously I’m treating it like we’re in playoff mode now. I think five very winnable games here to end the season. Who knows what can happen at 9-8? I’m not looking too big picture — you take it one week at a time. Look, there’s a lot of flux at the bottom of the NFC here, especially for that seven, six spot. You never know what can happen. You gotta take it one week at a time and we’ll see where it goes.”

If the Bears were able to close out their first matchup with the Lions and finish against the Denver Broncos, Chicago would in a better situation to be in the mix of playoff contention.

“I was talking about the margins being so thin,” Kmet said. “You look back at a couple games in the season. I can think of two that we really should have won. You win those, you’re just out of the playoffs — I think we’d be just out of the playoff mark at this point. We are where we’re at right now. That’s this league. But at the end of the day we’re still, you’re still kinda in it even though it’s been not a great start to start the season out here. You got five games to finish this thing off. And we’ll see where it lays, if we can get to 9-8 here.”

Justin Fields and Cairo Santos both had a moment or two against the Vikings that didn’t go their way, but how the two finished the game helped the Chicago Bears secure a 12-10 victory on Monday Night Football against their NFC North rival.

Going into the primetime game at U.S. Bank Stadium, Santos had only missed one field goal on the season. On the Bears first offensive drive of the game, Fields helped get the offense well within Santos’ field-goal range. The veteran lined up for a 48-yard kick, but missed it to the right.

After the game, Fields admitted he was surprised that Santos missed the field goal because of how well he had been kicking the football.

“You have to really trust your work that you do, the operation, the line, which I do,” Santos said after the game. “Just kind of kept doing what we do. We didn’t have to change anything. The miss is on me. Just not finishing the kick, so I was disappointed for sure. It was eating me alive for a little while, but I knew I had to stay with it and do what we do and getting opportunities was awesome to get an opportunity to bounce back.”

Santos would get four more opportunities after his first missed attempt. He made a 25, 39, 55 and the game-sealing 30-yard field goal. The 55-yard attempt was significant for a few reasons. It was tied for Santos’ longest field goal of his career and to attempt that kick from that distance at the beginning of the fourth quarter showed the trust the coaching staff had in their kicker.

“Pregame we already have the line set,” Santos said. “I really know what the strategy is each drive, so I get ready with the net to whatever kicked I can be asked to do and just wait for coach to make a decision. So we can go for it, we could kick a long field goal, so him letting me kick a 55, especially after I didn’t execute a long one. I remember that thought going through my head just like, ‘Man, I love this coach for allowing me to do that.’ That confidence kinda passes on to me and on the kick I said, ‘Let’s go.’ Right before that it was almost like I knew the kick was going in just because of the confidence that he showed in me.”

On the following drive after Santos’ made 55-yard field goal, the Bears defense intercepted Vikings quarterback Joshua Dobbs for the fourth time. The Bears took over on the Minnesota 38-yard line up 9-3 with 12:32 left in the fourth quarter.

The Bears defense up to that point of the game had been dominant, and all the offense needed to do was make it a two-possession game and that may have sealed the victory. But five plays after Kyler Gordon’s interception, Fields fumbled the ball on second-and-10 — which ignited a spark for the Vikings.

Minnesota capitalized on the turnover and went on an 8-play, 77-yard touchdown drive. Just like that the Bears were down 10-9 with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter. Still, the Bears had another opportunity and time on the clock. But on third-and-10, Fields nearly gave the game away with his second lost fumble of the quarter.

“First off can’t fumble,” Fields said after the game. “Need better ball security on that and it’s crazy cause Roschon (Johnson) I think he fumbled a play or two before I fumbled on the first one, and I’m telling him ball security is the most important things right now. Then two plays later, I fumble. Then the second was like a back breaker.”

The Vikings took over on Chicago’s 43-yard line, but the Bears defense forced a quick three-and-out to give Fields and the offense one last opportunity to change the outcome of the game.

Fields led the offense on a 10-play, 66-yard drive, which included a 36-yard completion to DJ Moore in the middle of the field to put Santos well within his field goal range.

That play was one that Fields and Moore had been connecting on since the dog days of training camp. Moore saw the middle of the field open up and Fields delivered a strike.

“Guys never wavered,” Fields said. “I told the guys in the locker room, ‘I appreciate them for sticking beside me and believing in me.’ You know defense did a great job getting us the ball back for that last drive and the offense did a great job executing those plays. So it felt great and really just felt good fighting through the adversity. Ups and downs of the game. Guys never got too high or too low and we fought and finished in the end.”

Just a week prior, the Bears lost to the Lions at Ford Field despite being up 12 points with just 4:15 left in the game. The Bears weren’t going to let that same result happen again. At halftime, Fields said the message in the locker room was to simply finish and that clearly stuck with the team.

Even though Fields and Santos had their own individual errors, the team still had the belief those two could get the job done when they needed to most. That’s the mindset T.J. Edwards had in his teammates.

“Man, that’s our guy,” Edwards said about Santos. There’s no waiver in confidence from us when it comes to eight. He’s been automatic all year. I just kind of had a feeling that he was going to hit a big-time kick after that. I know how he rolls. He’s a competitor. He’s our guy. It was awesome seeing him make that at the end of the game. The celebration was nuts, so it’s good to see.”

Edwards made the final tackle on third-and-9 that forced the Vikings to punt. Then the Bears linebacker watched Fields as he led the offense to win the game.

“I mean I think everyone on our sideline knew when that time was going to come that he was going to make a play,” Edwards said. “O-line did a great job of holding up all drive, and obviously having those weapons, having two out there helps a lot. That’s our guy. He’s a playmaker for a reason. He’s a captain for a reason, and he makes some big-time plays, so it was awesome to see.”

The Bears will enter their Bye Week with a 4-8 record, and Fields believes this win was significant because of the impact it can create on the final five games of the regular season.

“As a team, we haven’t let our record define who we are,” Fields said. “We know who we are as a team. We know what we are capable of and it’s really just going out there and doing it. Going out there and executing and finishing the way we know how, the way we did tonight. Really just cleaning up the mistakes cause if you clean up my two fumbles, we’re probably not even in that situation. So just again, props to all the guys, coaches, teammates and sticking their head down and finishing.”

That’s typically how most of Santos’ teammates know him. But the Bears’ kicker has an alternate personality come out of him after he makes a field goal.

In the 16-13 victory against the Panthers on Thursday Night Football in Week 10, Santos made all three of his field goals.

His first attempt was a 49-yard field goal to give the Bears their first points of the game. Santos kicked the ball through the uprights and began to quickly celebrate with his teammates.

But there was a flag on the play — a false start on veteran offensive lineman Cody Whitehair. The penalty moved the special teams unit back five yards and now Santos had a 54-yard field goal attempt.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pound kicker lined up and, again, kicked the ball through the uprights. That 54-yarder was Santos’ second-longest made field goal of his career, and he was pumped up about it.

“Yeah, he just kind of has that like, ‘Fuck yeah. I’m like that type attitude,'” Bears long snapper Patrick Scales said.

Punter Trenton Gill said that Santos made a stank face after the kick.

“He’s like an assassin you know,” Gill said. “You know when like a sniper takes a good shot? He like knows he is going to make it. Like he knows it’s going to be a good shot every time, so it’s like he’s pretty confident, proud you know.”

Santos said it’s great to express those emotions after a made kick because of how hard the special teams unit works to get those opportunities and execute them, but it doesn’t last long. At times only 20 seconds.

“It’s give or take, you know, just like a little moment,” Santos said. “I heard Tiger Woods say that in an interview that he allows himself to get angry but only for that. Just get it and then it’s over. You have to move on. I think it’s something that he might have been talking about teaching Charlie, his son, as it’s coming up to say, ‘It’s okay to be made to feel like that.’ In golf and kicking, I think there’s a lot of correlation and that you have to be even-keeled because the next shot’s gonna come up and you can’t let the good or bad in the past affect the next one.”

Although the emotions after a made or missed field goal come and go, Santos does realize the impact he can create when his teammates do see the other side of him.

“I think they kind of feed off a little bit because they see that we want that moment,” Santos said. “We can’t go out and hit guys. I can’t, you know, ‘Let’s go, J. Jones (Justin Jones), let’s get this sack together.’ He’s doing that and I’m just watching. You know, I can’t go, DJ Moore and, ‘Let’s go, man. Catch this 50-yard bomb.’ I can’t do that with them on the field, but when I get my opportunities and I capitalize on it and get pumped up, I hope they know that I’m with them in this war that is a football game. So, they’re counting on us and we want to give that energy. Put points on the board that you guys can trust us and we’re in this together.”

And when Santos goes onto the field, his teammates can feel his energy and it resonates throughout the entire team.

“It doesn’t matter where we are at,” Scales said. “We know as soon as we get in field goal range, that he’s locked in and we know he can make that shit. He’s got it in him. On top of that it feeds into the offense cause all the offense has to do is just get us there, man, and we’ll help it out. It’s complimentary football.”

Oct. 6, 2019: Bills @ Titans

In Week 5 of the 2019 NFL season, the Titans hosted the Bills at home. Santos was Tennessee’s kicker at the time.

Heading into that game, Santos had been 11 of 11 on extra points and made 4 of his 5 field goals. But against the Bills, he would go on to experience something completely career changing in the Titans 14-7 loss.

Santos went 0 for 4 on his field goal attempts. He missed a 50, 35 and 53-yard attempt, and also had a 33-yarder blocked. The Titans cut Santos one day after the loss, and he didn’t get a call from another team for the rest of the season. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit the following season and he didn’t get a single workout until the Bears signed him in late August.

“Basically I went a long time just kind of waiting for the next opportunity,” Santos said. “So I think it allowed me just to like just be so hungry for one. And I knew that the next opportunity I got would be my last. Like I just felt that way because of the injuries and the bad game. So I just attacked months of like, I made changes to my kicks. I got healthier because I wasn’t taking a toll of an NFL season on my body. But I got hungry. I just got like, you know, every opportunity I had to bring it and I still feel lke to this day, kicking in Chicago I have to bring my A player, and I think that’s what’s brought the best of me in that moment to save my career.”

Since Santos joined the Bears in 2020, he has made 96 of his 105 field goal attempts. During his 2020 season, Santos made 27 straight field goals and finished with a 93.8 field goal percentage. Both of those achievements broke records that were previously held by Robbie Gould. Before the 2021 season, the Bears and Santos agreed to a three-year, $9 million contract extension.

Through the first 11 games of this season, Santos has made 19 of his 20 field goals and is 21 of 22 on extra point attempts. Outside of the 2017 season when he finished with a 100% field goal percentage on his three made kicks, his 95% field-goal success rate this season is the highest of his career.

“I knew that game never was going to define me like, you know, it was just such an off game for the kind of standards that I do,” Santos said. “That I knew it wasn’t going to define like I’m that inconsistent of a kicker.”

Even though that four field goal missed game led to some tough times for Santos afterward, the 32-year-old kicker now loves talking about that infamous performance.

“I do believe that I am here today because of what I learned,” Santos said. “I’ve had some bad games in these four years that I’ve had here. Everyone has. That game changed my life for the better to be honest. That’s how I viewed it.”

Something Santos has learned in his 10-year NFL career is how to stay mentally locked in during games. He will make sure he is loose and even has a ball teed up on each tripod in front of the two nets on opposite ends of the Bears’ sideline in case there is a big play.

Santos will even try to look ahead during a drive and predict what could happen. And with a teammate like Justin Fields, Santos said he always has to be ready because an explosive play can happen at any moment.

“So I feel like a lot of the game I spend in my own world,” Santos said. “Like just preparing for when I have a situation come up. I want to be in control of everything. When a field goal is called, I feel like I step into a routine that I try to simulate that routine every time I practice.”

The usually soft-spoken Santos doesn’t typically have much to say after he makes a field goal. He will let out an occasional, “Let’s go,” “Yeah” or simply just yell. He isn’t big into cussing either, but even that slight and brief celebration brings out the emotions from his teammates.

Scales said: “But then he makes those big kicks and you feel that energy come from him and you’re like, ‘Fuck yeah. He’s got that dog in him.'”

Chicago Bears – Panthers Game Preview

Tune in for their expert analysis, bold predictions, keys to the game, x-factors, and more as they prepare you for this pivotal matchup. Whether you’re a Diehard Bears fan or simply looking for some football insight, this episode has you covered!

Tracy Walker III was the boundary safety in two-high coverage, and he came down once he saw DJ Moore crossing from the right to the left portion of the field on a drag route. Once Fields recognized Walker come down, he knew where to go with the football.

To rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott, who beat the corner with a nice release off the line of scrimmage and got behind the Lions’ defensive back. As Scott was running and trying to gage the football’s flight pattern, the young receiver misjudged the ball and the pass fell incomplete.

A completed pass would’ve put the Bears at least inside the Lions’ 30-yard line with just under three minutes left on the clock. The Lions only had one timeout to stop the clock.

Instead, the Lions went on to take the lead with an 11-play, 73-yard touchdown drive and ultimately won the game, 31-26.

That misconnection could’ve easily left a permanent scar on Fields to not trust Scott in crucial moments going forward.

But that’s not how Fields is looking at his fellow teammate at all.

“One game is not going to define if I go back to him,” Fields said. “To be honest, with you, I don’t care if you keep dropping the ball because everybody, we have our own individual responsibility to help this team be successful. If the receiver’s open, I’m going to throw him the ball and if he drops it, it’s his responsibility to catch the ball. That’s his job. He gets paid to do that. I’m not losing faith in him one game, two games, however many games, I’m going to keep going back to him.

“He’s going to be a great receiver, he has a lot of room to grow and he’s talented even now. He’s made a lot of plays for us this year on offense, special teams. He’s a speedster. Not many DBs can keep up with him. That one game, whatever it was. He had a tough game but we’ve all had tough games. As a football player, you have tough games. I’ve had a lot of tough games. It does nothing but make me better, make him better. At the end of the day, he’s a hard worker. He’s not going to let one, two, three games define who he is as a player. I have full faith in Tyler. Everybody else does, too.”

Fields couldn’t have provided a better answer. Clearly, regardless of the result of one play, Fields won’t have any hesitation on going back to a teammate, which is exactly how a quarterback should operate.

This answer is just one of the many instances of Fields displaying exceptional leadership and how to answer a question during a press conference properly.

Fields being willing to go back to Scott on a potential deep ball during a crucial portion of the game is also important because it’s what Fields excels at.

“To be honest, I feel like deep balls, just in general, I feel like it’s what I do best, to be honest with you,” Fields said. “I think I throw the ball down the field exceptionally. It’s one of my strengths. I’ve been doing it since high school, college. I think it’s one thing that I do best and one thing that I think we’re going to keep doing and get to more.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Fields has the sixth-highest grade (94.7) on deep passes of 20 or more yards. He has completed 14 of 29 attempts for 371 yards and has thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions.

With six games remaining in the regular season, expect Fields to continue taking shots downfield and to do so while targeting Scott when the opportunity presents itself.

But as quickly as Detroit scored its first touchdown in the closing minutes — which only took 1:16 off the clock — the Lions erased the lead and came back to deliver the Bears their eighth loss of the season.

Unsurprisingly after the game, Bears fans echoed their frustration on social media and called for coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordiantor Luke Getsy to be fired.

It’s hard to blame the fans considering the Bears had a 98.2 percent of winning the game when they were up by 12 with 4:15 on the clock, according to ESPN.

People outside of Halas Hall may want one thing, but the ones inside it have a different feeling about the leaders of this football team.

T.J. Edwards — who led the team with nine tackles and also had one of Jared Goff’s three interceptions — knows what’s like to be a part of a team that hasn’t achieved much success. While he was with the Eagles during the 2020 season, Philadelphia finished last in the NFC East with a 4-11-1 record.

“I mean, I have only been to one Super Bowl,” Edwards said. “So I’ve had some times where we have lost some games at the end of the year. Things like that. I understand what it feels like to lose a game that you feel like you should’ve won, but at the end of the day, the only thing you can do in this league is grow. As soon as you start to feel sorry for yourself and start to point fingers and things like that, that’s when stuff gets really bad. And we don’t have the guys in here that are doing that.

“We don’t have the coaches that are doing that. We got the right guys in here to build this thing and keep growing. It’s a tough pill to swallow, no doubt. No doubt about it we’re hurt by it cause we put a lot into it. You know just like you guys and your job. You know you put a lot into it. So do we, and we expect good results and unfortunately we didn’t get it.”

Following that last-place finish in the NFC East, Edwards’ Eagles went on to make the playoffs in the last two seasons he was in Philadelphia. In 2021, the Eagles finished 9-6 and lost in the Wild Card round. Then last season, the Eagles fell short in the Super Bowl to the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is Edwards’ first year in Chicago, but the Bears since the beginning of the 2022 season only have six wins to date. So losing has become a part of this Bears’ identity under Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles.

Sunday in Detroit just became the latest and most devasting loss. But Edwards won’t put the debacle at the end of the game against the Lions on his coaches.

“Yeah, no doubt,” Edwards said when asked if his coaches put the defense in a position to make plays. “I mean, at the end of the day no matter what is called, the coaches can only do so much, right? It’s down to us executing our job at a high level. That’s what the league is. You know what I’m saying. So there’s never going to be a perfect call. That’s kind of how it goes. They’ve got good coaches over there too so.

When we get those opportunities no matter what we’re in, and I think we were in the right position, we’ve just got to find a way to make a play. We had two drives kind of there at the end of the game where we couldn’t get them off the field and that’s what it came down to.”

Edwards also said that a way to stop an offense’s two-minute drill is to create “big plays” on defense, and that is what this current Bears unit will be striving to accomplish with six games remaining in the 2023 regular season.

Instead, Sunday’s game ended in just the latest heart-breaking loss for the Bears. The Lions came back from a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter and won 31-26.

The word that kept coming up in the postgame locker room and in Matt Eberflus’ and Justin Fields’ press conferences was “finish.”

And the Bears couldn’t do that on Sunday against the Lions.

“The main thing is that, you know obviously, the disappointment was the finish,” Eberflus said. “We didn’t finish it as a football team, didn’t finish it as coaches, as players the right way, and there are a lot of plays to be had out there and good calls we could’ve made in those situations to get us that victory.”

Things began to turn after the Bears’ third interception on Jared Goff, which gave Chicago great field position on Detroit’s 43-yard line. The Bears turned that Tremaine Edmunds turnover into a field goal, but there was an opportunity for more.

On third-and-1, Justin Fields went under center to try and pick up the first down on a quarterback sneak. The Lions stopped Fields for no gain, and Eberflus elected to have Cairo Santos kick a 40-yard field goal to give the Bears a 23-14 lead.

The Bears’ defense then forced a quick three-and-out, and Jaylon Johnson missed a chance to intercept Goff on third-and-13. He also had an opportunity at a potential pick earlier in the game, but couldn’t make the play and the Lions were able to score a touchdown on the following play.

“I definitely had a shot at both,” Johnson said. “I should have capitalized and honestly the game, I had two opportunities to put 14 points on the board. So I mean, just for me, I got to finish those, but not easy, easy catches, but I’m a player and I can make those plays and I gotta do it.”

Johnson couldn’t come up with those game-changing plays, though, and on the following drive after the three-and-out, the Bears again had to settle for a field goal on their 14-play, 70-yard drive.

The Bears at that point had a 26-14 lead with 4:15 left in the game. Then, the Lions made their comeback.

In six plays, the Lions marched down the field for a 75-yard touchdown drive that only took 1:16 off the clock. Goff connected with Jameson Williams for a 32-yard score to make it a 26-21 game.

The Bears’ offense responded with a 3-and-out, but — again — a big-time opportunity was missed. On third-and-9, Fields identified the safety come down in his robber coverage and threw a deep ball to Tyler Scott. The rookie wide receiver misplayed the ball and Chicago was forced to punt.

“It was just one-on-one, he had him beat, and he just misjudged the ball,” Fields said after the game. “He was running straight and tried to run it like (Fields looked over his shoulder), and got off balance, and that’s what caused him to kind of lose his speed. You know, he’s a young player with a bright future in this league, and he’ll bounce back.”

Scott also fumbled in the second quarter, and the Lions capitalized with a touchdown to Jahmyr Gibbs after starting on Chicago’s 34-yard line.

After the misconnection to Scott, the Bears punted and the Lions took over on their own 27-yard line with 2:33 left in the fourth quarter. Goff then led his team on an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ended fittingly with a David Montgomery 1-yard touchdown run. The Lions also were successful on the two-point conversion.

Fields and the offense got the ball back down 29-26 with :29 seconds remaining. On the first play, Aidan Hutchinson beat Darnell Wright around the edge and got his first sack of the game and also caused a fumble, which rolled in the back of the endzone — resulting in a safety.

Lions recovered the punt and ended the game with a victory formation kneel down.

“We just got to find a way to finish,” Khalil Herbert said after the loss.

Fields ended the game 16 of 23 for 169 passing yards and had one passing touchdown and no turnovers. He also added 104 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

Despite Fields’ performance and Chicago winning the turnover battle 4-1, the Bears found another devasting way to lose.

“I mean, yeah, it hurts a lot,” Fields said. “But, you know, I think you just got to take the positives out of it and learn from the loss. Like I said before, we did a lot of good things this game and we just got to build on it.”

That statement may sound like an exaggeration to some, but it’s definitely a possibility on how the Bears will be monitoring the end of the 2023 regular season.

Why is that the case?

Because, as it stands today, the Bears hold the No. 1 overall pick thanks to the trade with the Panthers and the fifth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Chicago secured the first pick in the draft after their 3-14 record last season, but general manager Ryan Poles elected to run with Fields in 2023.

Through nine games, the Bears are 2-7 and last in the NFC North. If the Bears end this season with two top 5 picks, including the first overall, then either USC’s Caleb Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye are definitely options for Chicago.

Fields is now just returning after missing four weeks with a right dislocated thumb, and he will have to show a lot to persuade the Bears’ organization he can still be the team’s quarterback beyond this season.

In the six games Fields has played, he has completed 100 of his 162 pass attempts for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also has added 237 yards rushing on 47 attempts.

Inconsistent would be a good way to describe his 2023 season so far.

Now, that’s not all on him. Injuries to the offensive line and overall coaching have also led to inconsistencies on offense, but when there were opportunities for Fields to show growth in his all-important Year 3 in the league, at times, he showed the opposite.

For Bears coach Matt Eberflus, these final seven regular season games can be telling.

“I think seven weeks is enough time to show consistency, you know, and be the high performer that we expect him to be,” Eberflus said. “I know he’s had some good performances along this year, certainly the last few have been solid. We expect consistency out of all our positions.”

It’s important not to confuse consistency with production. Hate to break it to people but Fields will not lead this offense to points or even move the ball enough to secure a first down on every drive. It’s not going to happen.

Also, the third-year quarterback will most likely make some unexplainable mistakes. Nearly every quarterback in the league does, regardless of their experience in the league.

And if the coaching staff doesn’t show some consistency themselves, then it’s going to be a lot more difficult for Fields. Looking at offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and his play calling.

But Fields can still show consistency by demonstrating that he understands each play design, can diagnose what coverages defenses are in, know where the ball should go in the limited seconds after the ball is snapped and, most importantly, take care of the football.

“Yeah, it always starts with taking care of the football, right?,” Getsy said. “I think that’s the starting point for anybody on offense, specifically the quarterback and then just like what I was mentioning before. It’s about getting better and progressing each and every week, right? And so, I think there were really cool parts of this season when we saw that from him, right? And unfortunately, the injury comes. So lets get back on track with that and continue to grow together.”

A quarterback in command of an offense shows consistency.

With Fields back and projected to start this Sunday against the Lions, he isn’t making this NFC North matchup bigger than what it is — the first of seven games left this season.

“Just go out there and win games,” Fields said. “I’m not here to prove anything to anybody. I’m playing for my teammates, I’m playing for the coaches, and that’s it. Everything else will take care of itself. So I’m not necessarily trying to prove anything to anybody. Just go out there with my brothers. And go out there and perform. So yeah.”

For Fields to play to the best of his ability, Getsy will have to design and call plays that accentuate the quarterback’s strengths. Right now that includes throwing the ball deep down field, playing outside the pocket and capitalizing on broken plays and hurting a defense with his legs. Those are all areas of his game that should not only just be present but more frequent in this final stretch of the season.

Fields is a dynamic playmaker. He needs to remind people of that.

According to Pro Football Focus, Fields has the seventh-highest grade (96.3) on passes of 20 yards or more among quarterbacks with a minimum of 20 attempts. He is 13 of 26 for 332 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Fields should get more chances to throw downfield since he will be playing behind, finally, a healthy offensive line. Nate Davis is back at right guard, which moved Teven Jenkins to left guard to take over for Cody Whitehair. And Braxton Jones will be playing in his third consecutive game on Sunday since his neck injury.

In these last seven games, Fields will get an opportunity to play four games against NFC North opponents and play four games on the road. Even though it’s not the most ideal metric, Fields has a 6-25 record as a starting quarterback with the Bears. He’s also 1-10 against the NFC North since 2021 — with Fields’ only win coming in Week 4 against the Lions of the 2021 season.

If Fields can lead his team to some much-needed victories and do so by highlighting his strengths while limiting his flaws, then Poles and the rest of this Bears organization will have some compelling conversations this offseason.

Fields, though, will focus on the now. That starts this Sunday at Ford Field against the NFC North-leading Lions.

“I mean it just starts with Sunday and just taking this day by day,” Fields said. “So yeah that’s my focus right now. I am just focusing on Sunday and getting prepared for that, going out, playing hard and playing to the best of my ability.”

Sources told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport early Wednesday morning. Fields is expected to start, “assuming today’s practice goes well.” Rapoport also mentioned that regaining “grip strength” was key for Fields.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus also announced during his Wednesday morning press conference that the plan is to start Fields on Sunday against the Lions. Eberflus said that Wednesday’s practice will be a big part of the evaluation, but Fields “is progressing well.”

Fields’ last regular season snap was on Oct. 15 against the Minnesota Vikings in the third quarter. The Bears’ quarterback dislocated his right thumb after he moved outside of the pocket on a third-and-7 play and was sacked by Danielle Hunter.

Before the injury, Fields completed 100 of his 162 pass attempts for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also had 47 rush attempts for 237 yards and a touchdown.

With Fields out the last month, undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent went 2-2 as a starter — securing victories over the Raiders and Panthers.

Only seven games remain in the 2023 regular season, and four of those matchups will be against NFC North opponents.

• Week 11 @ Detroit
• Week 12 @ Minnesota
• BYE WEEK
• Week 14 vs. Detroit
• Week 15 @ Cleveland
• Week 16 vs. Arizona
• Week 17 vs. Atlanta
• Week 18 @ Green Bay

So, this will be an important stretch for Fields to make a case to general manager Ryan Poles and the rest of this Bears organization that he should still be the franchise quarterback moving forward. The Bears currently hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft (from the trade with the Carolina Panthers).

And it starts this Sunday against the Lions at Ford Field.

The last time the Bears traveled to Detroit, Chicago was blown out 41-10 in the Week 17 matchup in 2022. That ended up being Fields’ last game of the season, and he finished 7 of 21 for 75 yards and threw a touchdown and an interception. He also ran for 132 yards on 10 attempts.

The team returned to Halas Hall on Monday for a light practice in helmets. Coach Matt Eberflus said the team worked on individuals, some special teams and did a walk-through towards the end of practice.

Here are some takeaways from Monday at Halas Hall.

Justin Fields health update

Eberflus started the press conference by saying he didn’t have any updates on injuries and will wait until Wednesday to release the first injury report of the week leading up to the Week 11 matchup with the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.

Justin Fields participated in Monday’s practice and was seen throwing into the target net while working on his dropback. His right thumb was wrapped with what appeared to be athletic tape, but Eberflus didn’t confirm what it was when asked what was on Fields’ right hand.

Eberflus was asked about Fields and how he looked throwing the football.

“We’re evaluating that as we go,” Eberflus said. “I think they look good. I think he’s in a good spot. Again, we’ll know exactly where we’re gonna be probably more on Wednesday. I don’t really have any more updates other than that, but in terms of him throwing the ball, it looks to be good.”

Eberflus also mentioned the team needs more time and for Fields to be involved in team practice activities to better assess where the quarterback is at with his injured right thumb.

“Just functioning in the game of football,” Eberflus said. “That’s the big part of it and that’s really the only update I have. Once we see him in the game of football in terms of going against the scout team and all that stuff and taking snaps and playing full speed, then we’ll make a determination, but it’s not there today.”

Shuffling offensive line?

Teven Jenkins has been a stable force at the right guard position for the Bears since he took over for an injured Nate Davis in Week 7. According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins hasn’t allowed a sack in six games and has only given up two quarterback hits.

With Jenkins playing so well at right guard, the team may have an interesting decision to make whenever Nate Davis is set to return from his injury. Eberflus was asked if there would be an O-line shuffle.

“The combinations there are gonna be a discussion that we have to have, for sure,” Eberflus said. “Nate’s a good player. Cody’s a good player. Teven’s a good player. So it’s a good problem to have. We’ll look at it and put our best five out there that we’re gonna put out there for the Lions.”

According to Eberflus, Davis along with Jenkins and Cody Whitehair are all “able to flip and play” along the interior offensive line.

What Eberflus sees in Lions

This Week 11 matchup at Ford Field will be the first time the Bears will face Lions this season. In 2022, the Lions won both games, including a 41-10 blowout of the Bears in Detroit.

The Lions are currently 7-2 and first in the NFC North. A big reason the Lions are in their current position is because of the offense. The Lions are second in yards per game (406.4), sixth in points per game (26.8) and Jared Goff is fourth in the league in passing yards (2,507).

Here is what Eberflus had to say about the Lions’ offense.

“I would say balance, the ability to distribute the ball, and if you look at their production, where it comes from, obviously the backs are a big part of what they do, the addition of the new back that they have, an explosive player, with (David) Montgomery, that’s really a ying and a yang type of situation that’s really good for them,” Eberflus said. “Obviously the rising of their tight end, (Sam) LaPorta, I think he does a really good job in that offense. And then their receiving corps. You’ve got (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, who’s a big part of their production as well. Being able to distribute the ball to those guys equally. That’s what makes it so hard to defend.”

“It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but we found a way to win, and that’s all that matters in this league,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “We gotta figure it out this next game.”

The final reception perfectly represents how this prime-time matchup played out. With the Bears facing a third-and-7 from the Panthers’ 48-yard line with just 1:26 left in the game, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy put the game-sealing play in Tyson Bagent’s hands.

Getsy called a pass with the Bears up by three, and Bagent delivered a ball to Darnell Mooney in between two Panthers defenders. Mooney caught the ball right on the 39-yard line and then braced himself for a hit by linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. Mooney somehow secured the catch for an 8-yard gain to move the chains.

Lucas Patrick and Equanimeous St. Brown went to help Mooney off the ground, and then Patrick lifted Mooney in the air, knowing that his reception sealed the Bears the victory.

“Hell of a job by Mooney, man,” Moore said. “That hit was crazy and he found a way to catch the ball and end the game, so I’m glad.”

The play was actually a similar concept the Bears ran earlier in the game. Late in the third quarter, Tyson Bagent completed a pass to Trent Taylor, but it was taken away by Moore’s offensive pass interference call.

Bagent said after the game that they “knew the play was effective, so we went back to it.”

“We liked the play call,” Matt Eberflus said. “We liked the play call. We discussed it, and we went for it. We thought that executed well, and Mooney made a beautiful catch. He is one yard past the stick and sealed the game. Really good play call by Luke. Excellent execution by the O-line, the entire offense and Mooney on the catch and Bagent on the throw.”

Bagent ended the night 20 of 32 for 162 passing yards, no touchdowns, but also no interceptions. Moore led the team in receiving with his five receptions for 58 yards.

Mooney’s catch helped the Bears secure their third victory of the season, but D’Onta Foreman’s 21 carriers for 80 yards and touchdown combined with a stingy, bend-but-don’t break defense and Cario Santos’ three made field goals put Chicago in a position to win the game in the first place.

The Bears’ defense set up Foreman to score the only offensive touchdown of the game. The Panthers went three-and-out on their second offensive possession of the third quarter. Kyler Gordon tackled running back Miles Sanders for a six-yard loss on first down. Then Bryce Young completed a pass for a six-yard gain, but Yannick Ngakoue sacked Young on third-and-10.

Jaylon Johnson was asked if the thought that defensive drive was a turning point in the game.

“I feel like, honestly, defense, we dominated the whole game,” Jaylon Johnson said. “So I feel like it wasn’t too much of a turning point for us. It was just going out there and keep getting the ball back to the offense.”

After the Panthers’ punt, the Bears started their offensive drive on the Carolina 38-yard line. Bagent completed two passes on the 9-play, 38-yard drive, and Foreman punched the ball in on his 4-yard touchdown run.

The Bears defense held Young to 185 passing yards and sacked him three times. Justin Jones, Rasheem Green and Ngakoue were able to bring down Young.

Montez Sweat led the team in pressures with seven, according to Pro Football Focus. On the Bears’ second defensive snap in the game, Sweat easily got by the tight end Tommy Tremble and forced Young to throw an incomplete pass.

“That’s what we wanted to do, rattle Bryce Young a little bit,” Sweat said. “I think we did a great job of that. …”

The Bears held the Panthers to 3 of 15 on third down and only allowed one red zone trip. Chicago’s run defense continued has been good all season and continued on Thursday night by only allowing 43 yards on the ground.

“With the game, I really thought that we played some good complementary football,” Eberflus said. “I really thought that the defense did a really good job of creating some short fields for our offense most of the day, and that was good. We capitalized on some of them. It was that kind of game. Both defenses played well today. We knew it was going to be some field goals there as the game went on, and I thought that overall we handled it well and put ourselves in position to win the game.”

Bears coach Matt Eberflus told reporters on Wednesday afternoon that Fields has been “progressing everyday but is not medically cleared yet, and Bagent will be our starter” on Thursday night.

Nathan Peterman will be the backup.

Fields was listed as doutbtful after Wednesday’s practice, but he did throw passes.

Eberflus was asked about Fields’ limitations, but the Bears’ coach didn’t identify any specifics.

“He’s getting better,” Eberflus said. “Accuracy is improving. He’s throwing it better. He’s starting to do more and more, so we’ll see where it goes. Right now we are listing him as doubtful, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Eberflus was asked specifically about grip strength being a problem, but he said “it’s everything.”

Despite Eberflus naming Bagent the starter, Fields hasn’t officially been ruled out of the Thursday night game against Carolina.

“We’ll see where it goes,” Eberflus said. “The chances are doubtful, 51% that’s he’s in or out, and it’s gonna be, we’ll see where it is. We got a little time left. Again, we’ll declare him out when he is out. Right now we’re still listing him as doubtful.”

There is also a possibility that Fields may go through some pregame work tomorrow night, but it all depends what happens in the next 24 hours, according to Eberflus.

If this matchup was on Sunday as opposed to Thursday night, Eberflus said that it “was a good possibility” that Fields could’ve played.

“Short weeks are hard,” Eberflus said. “They are hard.”

Fields was limited in Monday and Tuesday for the walk-through practices. So Wednesday’s first actual practice of the week will be a big day to determine if Fields can come back from his right dislocated thumb injury that he sustained on Oct. 15 against the Vikings.

For offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, he will let the higher ups in the Bears’ organization figure out what happens with Fields.

“That will come down to Justin and the training staff, coach (Matt Eberflus) and Ryan (Poles) figuring out where they want to be in all that stuff,” Getsy said. “I think when you’re in this moment, you’re kind of out of that conversation from my perspective.”

Getsy may not have any input on whether Fields or Tyson Bagent plays on Thursday against the Panthers, but he will have his fingerprints all over the offensive gameplan.

And regardless if it’s Fields or Bagent on Thursday Night Football, the overall gameplan will be similar for both quarterbacks.

“We talked about this last week,” Getsy said. “I think that’s the cool part of how we put this thing together at the very beginning where we felt like we kind of put it all out there for our guys and being able to take this thing in a few different directions and the guys feel really comfortable in doing that. So, I don’t think from everybody else’s perspective in that room other than the two quarterbacks, it’s not going to feel like it’s a different gameplan by any means if we go one direction or the other.”

Play action has been a winning game plan for Bears

Fields and Bagent both have done well this season with play-action passes.

According to Pro Football Focus, for quarterbacks with a minimum of 50 dropbacks, Bagent is ranked No. 2 in the league in yards per attempt off play action passes with (4.4). Fields is No. 7 in the league with 3.4 yards per attempt. Bagent is No. 1 in the league with his 89.5 completion rate off play action, while Fields is tied for seventh with 72.7%.

But Fields and Bagent are different regarding arm talent and getting the ball out quickly. Bagent threw three interceptions in the 24-17 loss to the Saints, and two of those turnovers appeared to be thrown late and not with the velocity needed to make the throws.

Throwing with velocity isn’t a problem for Fields, but his decision-making and quick release issues have shown up this season. Just think back to the first offensive play against the Vikings.

The passing charts from the last two Bears’ victories also illustrate how Fields and Bagent are different.

In the 30-12 victory over the Raiders, Bagent only threw one pass over 15 yards. In the 40-20 win against the Commanders, Fields had nine passes travel over 15 yards, including two passes that went over 30 yards downfield.

Of course Getsy and the offensive staff will game plan to specific opponents, but it’s clear that the two quarterbacks have different strengths. Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko was also asked how the gameplans would remain similar regardless of who is under center.

“A lot of it is, when we’re designed a pass game we’re designing to get our playmakers the ball,” Janocko said. “Whether it be, we’re gonna try to get the ball to DJ and Cole and Darnell and get the ball to the backs. I don’t think that changes much. Are there some nuances, plays we’d rather call with Justin? Yeah. Are there some plays we’d rather call with Tyson? Yeah. I don’t think you design a gameplan completely different. Again, at the end of the day when you’re designing a pass play, you’re trying to get your guys the ball.”

If Fields is able to play with some type of limitations on his right throwing hand, Getsy will have to find ways to scheme around the injury.

“With anybody that’s in a situation that they’re not able to do something, that happens in the middle of games, that happens in your preparation,” Getsy said. “You’re obviously going to take those things into consideration no matter whether that happens during the game or in your week leading up to it. I guess the answer to you is yes, whatever that is. We don’t have KB (Khari Blasingame) this week, so we have to have a plan of how we’re going to attack somebody without KB. So you’re always going to have those battles that you’re going to have to work through, whether it’s during the week of or…”

Getsy feels confident that Fields would be able to naviate the limitations since there have been plenty of moments before that have shown Fields’ toughness and willingness to battle through adversity.

There isn’t a set time for Getsy, Fields and the rest of the offensive staff to decide what will or won’t be in the gameplan. It will be a process, much like it’s deciding who will actually play against the Panthers.

“That would be a continuous conversation,” Getsy said. “In your week of prep, that’s a pre-game, that’s a during-the-game conversation in this instance, and really every instance. We go into a game, we’re on the sideline and we’re talking and if he’s feeling something during the game, or anybody’s feeling that same way during the game, then we’ll lean toward those areas as well. That’s just a constant conversation that we would continue to have.”

The Bears still have not defeated the Saints in the Superdome since 1991. They will have to wait for their next opportunity to end the 32-year drought. Also, the Bears havent beat the Saints since 2008, and are currently on a 8-game losing streak to New Orleans.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus, Andrew Billings and Darnell Mooney addressed the media on Monday after the team’s seventh loss of the season.

Here are some of the top takeaways from the press conferences.

Justin Fields day to day

Eberflus announced on Monday that Justin Fields was limited in Monday’s walk-through practice. The Bears’ coach also described Fields as day to day, which is a step in the right direction from his week-to-week status a week ago.

“So we’re literally see where it is today and then see where it goes from there and we’ll know more on Wednesday in terms of how that progresses,” Eberflus said.

With the shortened timeframe for this Thursday night matchup with the Panthers, Eberflus will be monitoring Fields’ “functionality,” and three keys components.

“Injuries guys coming off of injury, it always comes down to the medical staff clearing them, how the play feels he can function in the game, and then the coaches looking at it and say, ‘Hey, yes, he could function at a high level and get the job done,'” Eberflus said. “So it’s always those three factors.”

Fields isn’t the only player on the Bears dealing with an injury. Eberflus also shared that Jaquan Brisker is back to a full go after being cleared of his concussion. Tremaine Edmunds is also day to day with his knee injury.

The Bears also announced on Monday afternoon that Equanimeous St. Brown, Khalil Herbert and Josh Blackwell have been designated to return from injured reserve.

Andrew Billings on pass rush

The Bears’ defensive line is in two completely different places when it comes to stopping the run and rushing the quarterback.

After nine games this season, Chicago’s defense is ranked No. 4 in the league with only allowing 79.7 rushing yards per game. The Bears’ 2022 defense finished 31st in the league in that category.

The pass rush, however, has struggled this season. The Bears are ranked dead last in the league with 10 sacks in nine games. Sunday’s 24-17 loss to the Saints marked the fourth time the defense was unable to register a sack.

Andrew Billings has played a big part in the defense’s success at stopping the run and has done his part in trying to provide some much-needed pass rush. With the run defense and pass rush being so distinctly different, Billings was asked if that is frustrating to see as a player.

“Yeah, guys get frustrated and stuff,” Billings said. “As a player you go out there and play your hardest. So you know, you want to perform your best at all times. Yeah, guys get frustrated but we’ve all got to focus up and just keep working together because eventually it’s going to come.”

Montez Sweat is someone that can definitely help the pass rush become more productive. In his Bears’ debut, Sweat generated four pressures, which was a team-high, on 25 pass rushes.

Billings said it was great playing alongside Sweat. He also mentioned the two communicated throughout the game and “got everything settled before the snap and I think he fits right in.”

“I think he made it available for everybody to get one on ones,” Billings said. “I think now we have a full threat on this line and it’s really going to help out as far as offensive linemen just not focusing on one player each snap, that they have to spread out the work.”

Darnell Mooney on a contract extension

In the loss to the Saints, Darnell Mooney had his most productive game of the season. The fourth-year wide receiver was targeted a season-high six times and finished with five receptions for 82 yards.

“I mean I’ve just been doing what I’ve been doing the whole season and the ball found me,” Mooney said. “Just got to make the most out of every opportunity you can get. I mean, I did what I could with what I got.”

This season hasn’t been the easiest for Mooney. Through nine games this season, Mooney has 20 receptions, 304 yards and one touchdown, which he caught in the Week 1 loss to the Packers.

For Mooney, who is in the last year of his rookie contract, this 2023 season is important to showcase to the Bears or the other 31 NFL teams how he can be an asset to offense.

Like his fellow teammate Jaylon Johnson, Mooney is also looking for a new contact and the former fifth-round draft pick out of Tulane would welcome another opportunity in Chicago.

“I mean, eventually somebody is going to pay,” Mooney said. “Whether it’s here or wherever you go somebody is going to take care of you. So you’ve just got to go out there and play ball. It doesn’t matter what you’re going to do. You can’t look for something tomorrow. Whenever it comes it comes and you just have to take care of your job. Extensions is a good thing. Obviously I would love to be here. I love Chicago. I love the fans. I love just being here. I mean, we’ve got everything in here. Facility-wise we have one of the nicest facilities ever so I would definitely love to be here but like I said you just can’t worry about it. Somebody is going to pay eventually.”

This was a game the Bears knew they had plenty of opportunities in, but critical mistakes kept the team from pulling off with a potential road upset.

Tyson Bagent didn’t hold back on how he felt about this game.

“I thought our team played extremely well,” Bagent said after the loss. “Which is why it’s so embarrassing because one-score game, lose the turnover battle by that amount. It’s embarrassing, but it’s a part of the game. I’m just looking forward to building, learning from this experience.”

Not only did the Bears lose the turnover battle 5-0, but the Saints also only committed one penalty for five yards while the Bears were flagged eight times for 71 total yards.

Cole Kmet finished the game with six receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears’ tight end felt like some opportunities were missed due to the numerous mistakes.

“Well, it’s frustrating because I really think we could’ve, there were some opportunities there to kind of extend the lead there, particularly in the first half,” Kmet said. “Then the second-half defense was doing a really good job stopping those guys. Yeah, we just got to be better in execution, so when it’s second-and-20, first-and-20, it’s hard to overcome that in the NFL, especially a defense like that.”

After Kmet scored off an 18-yard touchdown reception on the opening drive of the game, the Bears’ defense forced a punt. Complementary football.

However, on the Bears’ second offensive possession, Bagent was intercepted trying to force a ball to Kmet on second-and-15 with 5:59 left in the first quarter.

Bagent was critical of himself after the game for his three interceptions, but Kmet thought the team could’ve done more to help out the rookie quarterback.

“I can do a better job of coming back to the football once I see it’s out of his arms,” Kmet said. “I got to a little scramble mode there because my initial window was closed, so I worked back to another window, and I just got to stay on that line and maybe come back to the football. At the very least, break up the pass. So we had a couple of those scenarios you know in the man coverages and stuff. We got to be better in terms of working back down hill to the football. Those were some good throws he made that they ended up getting the football instead of us and we can’t let that happen.”

Bagent returned from that first mistake by leading the offense on a six-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Kmet’s second touchdown of the day.

The Bears and Saints were tied at 14 going into halftime. Chicago’s defense forced a three-and-out to start the third quarter, but the offense committed its second error of the game.

Bagent found DJ Moore over the middle of the field for a 13-yard reception on second-and-4. Tyrann Mathieu grabbed Moore’s legs and Paulson Adebo punched the football out of Moore’s hands for the forced fumble.

Before the play, it appeared Moore had an issue with one of his gloves, but he said that had nothing to do with why he fumbled.

“I was just trying to make a play,” Moore said. “I was trying to push him off, but he had a good Peanut Punch on it. I think Mathieu had my legs, so it was hard for me to try and go get it. He just made a great play on it.”

The Saints scored a field goal off of Moore’s turnover, but the Bears answered back with a field goal of their own to tie the game at 17. It wasn’t until early on in the fourth quarter that the Saints scored what ended up being the final touchdown in the game.

Taysom Hill found a wide open Juwan Johnson in the end zone to make it a 24-17 game with 11:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.

There was still plenty of time on the clock for the Bears to tie the game, but the following two Bears’ possessions ended in Bagent interceptions. Bagent tried to hit Darnell Mooney over the middle of the field, but Marcus Maye jumped the route and secured the pick. Bagent said after the game that he thought he was late on the throw.

Adebo intercepted Bagent again on the next drive on a pass intended for Tyler Scott over the middle of the field. The ball was behind Scott, but Bagent felt that pass was on time. He credited the coverage and at the same time took the blame for the mistake.

The Bears and Saints then traded three-and-outs on their next offensive drives. Then the Saints gave the Bears another opportuntity after kicker Blake Grupe hit the left upright on his 47-yard field goal attempt. Cairo Santos also missed a 40-yard field at the end of the first half.

With one last opportunity down 24-17, the Bears started on their own 37-yard line. Darnell Wright was flagged for holding to start the drive. Then two plays later, Bagent was sacked by Demario Davis and fumbled the ball for the Bears’ fifth and final turnover.

The chances were there, but the Bears’ constant mistakes caused the team to drop to 2-7 on the season.

“Protect the ball,” Moore said. “As long as we hold the ball, they don’t have the ball and they can’t score points. So, we just got to protect the ball.”

The Bears will have to learn how to properly protect the fooball quickly since they will host the Carolina Panthers in four days at Soldier Field for a matchup on Thursday Night Football.

The Bears’ quarterback was limited and is currently listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.

“We’ll see,” Fields said when asked if he could play against the Saints. “So, I’ve been mentally preparing like, you know, I have been like I’m going to play. But we’ll see just how it feels Sunday.”

Fields practiced for the first time since he dislocated his right thumb against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6 on October 15.

“It felt good, but first day back throwing today,” Fields said. “I have to use a glove right now, but it’s progressing.”

Fields told reporters on Friday that he isn’t wearing anything under the glove to help with protection. The glove, according to Fields, helps make it easier to throw the football right now, since his grip strength is still recovering.

“It’s not fully back,” Fields said on his grip strength. “And there’s, of course, still a little bit of pain. But, you know, like I said, I’ve been, you know, preparing like I’m, you know, going to play, and meetings, walkthroughs and just been locked in.”

Fields did acknowledge that it’s “been tough” going so long without being able to throw a football, but he’s been focused on helping Tyson Bagent and his fellow teammates prepare in any way that he can.

Fields also revealed there was never a concern that he would need surgery for his dislocated right thumb with the MRI coming back negative.

In the next 48 hours, Fields plans to get more rehab, treatment, and overall keeping his same routine that he normally would do if he was playing. He’ll just wait to see how his thumb feels on Saturday since this Friday throwing session was the most he has thrown.

If Fields cannot play against the Saints, it’s a quick turnaround for the Week 10 matchup with the Panthers, who come to Chicago to play on Thursday Night Football.

Fields was asked about his confidence to play against Carolina.

“Like I said, I mean, I don’t know,” Fields said. “It’s just going to be day by day to be honest with you. I’ve been progressing each and every day, but we’ll see.”

Join Will and Nick for their signature segments, featuring expert analysis, bold predictions, keys to the game, x-factors, and more as they get you ready for this critical matchup. Whether you’re a die-hard Bears fan or just looking for some football insight, this episode has you covered.

0:00 – Intro/Happy Birthday Will
4:07 – Bears/Saints One Liners
6:20 – Offensive Keys to the game
22:35 – Defensive Keys to the game
42:25 – X Factors
47:53 – Who has the edge?
54:35 – Over/Unders
56:49 – BOLD Predictions
59:50 – Most Valuable Bear
1:02:50 – Game Predictions

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the extension is worth $8.5 million with $6 million in guaranteed money.

“We’re extremely excited to be able to keep Andrew in Chicago,” general manager Ryan Poles told ChicagoBears.com. “The professionalism, dependability and toughness he brings exhibit the type of player we want in our organization.”

Through the first eight games, the 28-year-old defensive lineman has 15 total tackles on 247 total snaps played, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Billings has had an immediate impact on helping this Bears defense to stop the run effectively.

The Bears’ defense is currently ranked No. 3 in the league with only allowing 78.8 rushing yards per game. Last season, Chicago allowed 157.3 rushing yards per game, which ranked 31st in the NFL.

Although Billings was primarily known for his ability to stop the run and to clog running lanes with his 6-foot-1, 311-pound frame, he has also been a productive pass rusher.

PFF has Billings rated with a pass rush grade of 68.5 — the highest among all defensive linemen on the Bears. The interior defensive lineman has also registered 14 total pressures on the season.

“It feels good that somebody appreciates you and that you’re doing a good enough job that they want you around a little longer,” Billings told ChicagoBears.com on Thursday. “That always feels good.”

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The news was confirmed by Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, who said the decision was made with support from ownership, team president Kevin Warren and general manager Ryan Poles.

“As the head coach, we are building a program and have standards to uphold to as a staff and organization both on and off the field, and those standards were not met,” Eberflus said at a Wednesday morning press conference. “I’m not going to get into details other than he’s no longer on the staff.”

The news was first reported by Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.

Walker was fired due to his behavior in the workplace, and the human resources department was involved in the decision, according to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.

Eberflus declined to comment when asked directly if Walker’s dismissal was due to behavioral issues.

Omar Young, who was the assistant quarterbacks coach and wide receivers coach, will take over as the running backs coach for the Bears.

Walker is the second Bears’ assistant coach to be let go this season. Defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned from his position on September 20. Williams wrote in a statement that he took a step back from the organization so that he could take care of his health and family.

Eberflus also mentioned that he addressed the changes with his staff, the team’s leadership council and the entire football team on Wednesday morning.

The Bears’ coach was asked about his level of accountability he has in this situation.

“It’s disappointing from my vantage point,” Eberflus said. “But we have a standard to uphold to, and when that standard is not met, we act and we act accordingly. That’s what we did today.”

Despite two assistant coaches being no longer a part of the organization, Eberflus said “absolutely not” to the idea of there being a culture problem with the Bears.

“The culture in our building is outstanding,” Eberflus said. “The guys work hard every single day. The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned. We’re 2-2 in the last two games. One game was real close, had a chance at that one. And we really feel we’re turning the corner there, and we feel excited about this week. But to answer your question, the culture is awesome.”

Walker has had 27 years of coaching experience and was in his ninth season coaching in the NFL. Prior to joining the Bears in 2022, Walker was Lions’ running backs coach from 2016-2018. He also had a four-year stint in the same position in Indianapolis.

Eberflus and Walker did not overlap at any point in their respective coaching careers before the two joining the Bears.

Wednesday’s news becomes the latest in what has featured plenty of off the field problems for the Bears’ organization.

“Our guys are resilient,” Eberflus said. “They really are. They are tough-minded. They’ve been through adversity. The culture is great here. Our guys work their tails off and you guys see the locker room, you know what it’s like. It is where it is and guys move forward.”

Washington Commanders defensive end Montez Sweat is headed to the Bears for a 2024 second-round pick. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport on Tuesday morning.

Sweat is 27 years old and on the final year of his contract. He has 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback hits through eight games in 2024.

By comparison, the Bears defensive ends have combined for five sacks, 11 TFLs and 13 QB hits so far.

Against the Bears on Thursday Night Football in Week 5, Sweat had six total tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Sweat was selected by the Commanders with the No. 26 pick out of Mississippi State in the 2019 NFL draft and has collected 35.5 sacks in the 4 1/2 seasons since.

It’s the second straight NFL trade deadline that Ryan Poles has made a big move. Last fall, the Bears GM shook up the roster in a big way, sending star linebacker Roquan Smith to Baltimore and then acquiring wide receiver Chase Claypool from Pittsburgh.

Nicholas Moreano’s reaction to the Montez Sweat trade

The next logical step for the Bears would be to work on a possible contract extension for their new defensive lineman. The latest pass rusher to get an extension was the Packers’ Rashan Gary, who agreed to a 4-year, $107 million extension on Monday.

Sweat becomes the newest lineman the Bears have added to their current roster. On Aug 4, the Bears signed Yannick Ngakoue to a 1-year, $10.5 million deal with 10 million guaranteed.

Going into the 2023 season, the Bears already made several moves to upgrade their defensive line. General manager Ryan Poles signed DeMarcus Walker to a 3-year, $21 million deal and added Andrew Billings to a 1-year, $2,750,000 contract. The Bears also selected Gervon Dexter Sr. with the No. 53 overall pick, Zacch Pickens with the 64th pick in the third round and took Travis Bell with the 218th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

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Dating back to Matt Eberflus’ first year as coach, the Bears have been outscored 145-77 after coming off a victory the week before. Since the 2022 season, Eberflus has only won five games and has failed to secure back-to-back victories.

Here is what the second-year coach had to say during his Monday afternoon press conference.

Justin Fields ruled out

Justin Fields has been ruled out for the Week 9 matchup against the New Orleans Saints. This will be the third-straight game Fields has missed due to the right dislocated thumb injury he suffered in the loss to the Vikings. Eberflus said that Fields is still “week to week, but he is improving.” Until Fields can return from his injury, Tyson Bagent will be the starter.

Eberflus was asked if Fields has begun throwing the football in any way.

“He’s progressing. I can just say that,” Eberflus said. “I’m not going to get into particulars but he is progressing and he is improving. I can say that. So we like where it is right now.”

The Bears chose not to place Fields on IR, and the team is still hopeful that the quarterback can return within the four-week time frame.

Jaquan Brisker concussion situtation

Eberflus made it clear that Jaquan Brisker’s current situation is unique and one that he hasn’t been a part of before.

Brisker is back in concusion protocol, according to Eberflus. Early in the week on Sunday and Monday, the second-year safety was examined by an independent neuorologist and was cleared of a concussion. Then on Tuesday, Brisker started feeling ill, showing symptoms such as a fever, and that persisted until Friday. Brisker was then brought to Halas Hall and ruled out on Saturday. His illness then was cleared on Saturday, but the next day he still felt a “bit off.”

Eberflus mentioned that Brisker has done a “very good job of communicating” with the team throughout this situation, and the coach said, “The most important thing is our players’ safety and health.”

What happened on Tyson Bagent’s first interception?

The Bears’ offense struggled at finding any rhythm in the first half. The first two drives resulted in punts, and then the third offensive possession ended in a Tyson Bagent interception.

On third-and-8 from the Chargers’ 45-yard line, Bagent lined up in the shotgun and had time to throw. The rookie quarterback had Darnell Mooney in the slot and DJ Moore lined up outside the numbers. Bagent threw inbetween Moore and Mooney and was easily intercepted by Ja’Sir Taylor.

Eberflus provided an exaplanation on what went wrong on that particular play.

“Just gotta get the ball in the flatw, that’s all,” Eberflus said. “I think it was Mooney in the flat, right?”

The Chargers ran a screen to the left for Ekeler. Edwards identified the screen and went full speed in Ekeler’s direction. The veteran linebacker didn’t have the proper angle and only managed to get his left hand on Ekeler’s shoulder pads.

Instead of a tackle for loss, the veteran running back took the pass 39 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

“I felt like all the stuff that we were kinda seeing all week,” Edwards said. “You know, just really didn’t execute when it came down to some of the screens and things like that. All things that we can fix, so at the end of the day we got to get back to work. There is another team coming team coming next week, and we’ll be ready for it.”

Before the Bears can move on to their Week 9 matchup with the New Orleans Saints, they need to figure out what happened in the blowout, 30-13, loss to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football at SoFi Stadium.

Ekeler finished with 123 total yards (29 rushing and 94 receiving) along with his receiving touchdown. Justin Herbert started the game 15 of 15 and ended his night 31 of 40 for 298 yards and three touchdowns.

One of the main issues that has become a reoccurring one since the beginning of the 2023 season and even dating back to when Matt Eberflus started his tenure as head coach is the lack of execution on the fundamentals.

Against the Chargers, Bears defenders missed tackles throughout the entire game — allowing drives to be extended and points to be scored.

Eberflus said prior to Sunday’s game the tackling had been better for his unit. Clearly it was far from better in the prime-time spotlight, but Eberflus wouldn’t attribute the poor tackling to a lack of effort.

“It always comes down to fundamentals to me,” Eberflus. “It’s fundamentals. It about being in there and having the right mindset and understanding how to attack the football. I got them in the locker room there. They were good in the second half.”

Maybe the reason why Eberflus thought the tackling was better for the final two quarters was because he saw his defense make one more crucial missed tackle right at the end of the first half.

Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson lined up one-on-one with tight end Donald Parham Jr. to the right side of the field. Parham ran a simple five-yard hitch from Chicago’s 11-yard line. Herbert delivered the pass and Stevenson attempted to secure the tackle but couldn’t. The 6-foot-8, 237-pound tight end worked up field and reached the end zone to make it a 24-7 game.

“Nothing really, just a missed tackle,” Stevenson said. “Got to go out there and work on tackling this week and get better.”

Of course, it wasn’t just the defense that came out flat, so did the offense. The Bears only managed to score 13 points and finished with just 73 yards on the ground. It was a complete 180 from what happened in the Week 7 matchup with the Raiders a week ago.

Against the Raiders at Soldier Field, the Bears ran for 173 total yards in the 30-13 victory. The Bears ran for 100 more yards against the Raiders than in the road loss to the Chargers.

Cole Kmet mentioned in the locker room after the game that he thought the team could’ve done better with their overall physicality in the run game, but he couldn’t pinpoint why that physicality that was there a week ago against the Raiders didn’t show up against the Chargers.

“I don’t know. Just didn’t come with us from Chicago,” Kmet said. “Which is too bad because I think that’s our identity and that’s what we need to play into. That’s something that we need to carry with us all the time. So, I just didn’t feel like I did last week with the Raiders, and I know that was a really good performance. But that edge we usually got in the run game, I just didn’t feel like it was there this week.”

It’s astonishing the Bears could play without that edge in the run game for a prime-time road game that featured plenty of Bears fans in attendance. Although, the Bears did come out flat in their home opener against the Packers in Week 1 and had a disappointing performance in the loss to the Vikings after such a convincing victory over the Commanders a week prior.

The Bears are going into Week 9 of the 2023 NFL season, and the team is still trying to figure out how to play with proper fundamentals and how to play with physicality on a consistent basis.

It’s fitting the team is 2-6 and sitting at the bottom of the NFC North.

Justin Herbert is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. Wide receiver Keenan Allen is still producing at a high level in his 11th year in the NFL. Running back Austin Ekeler is a dual-threat weapon out of the backfield.

With all these different and talented options at the Chargers’ disposal, Bears linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards will have their hands full on Sunday night at SoFi Stadium.

Linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi views Herbert as one of the more talented quarterbacks in the league.

“He’s got one of the strongest arms in the league,” Borgonzi said. “He can make all the throws, in cuts, balls on the sideline, he can make every throw there is. And also, he’s athletic. So he presents a lot of problems in that he can make every throw and then he can scramble and he can scramble and he can throw. He scrambles really effectively and he’s accurate. It’s the first time I’ve gone against him. He’s a really good player.”

Herbert has thrown for 1,592 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions this season. According to Pro Football Focus, Herbert is 57 of 76 for 652 yards and has thrown four touchdowns and three interceptions when passing between the numbers this season. A majority of those passes were between 0-10 yards, which should be where Edmunds and Edwards will be operating for a majority of the game.

Allen has 46 receptions for 574 yards and four touchdowns on the season. He’s caught 26 passes between the 0-10-yard range and has made receptions across the whole field, so if the two linebackers are in zone, they will need to be prepared to go from sideline to sideline to make a play on the veteran wide receiver.

And the same can be applied for Ekeler. He has only played in three games this season due to an ankle injury and has not been too productive the last two games, running for a combined 72 yards and adding only 36 receiving yards. In the Week 1 matchup against the Dolphins, though, Ekeler ran for 117 yards and a touchdown and had 47 receiving yards.

The production may not be there right now for Ekeler, but Borgonzi knows exactly the type of player and impact Ekeler can have on a game.

“Yeah, so I laugh because we played against the Chargers in 2019, we opened up against them, and he was a little bit of an unknown at that point and he’s a good player,” Borgonzi said. “He had 107 receptions last year in the pass game. He’s an effective guy out of the backfield and the thing about Ekeler, he’s a strong runner so we’ve got to really tackle this guy, bring your feet when you’re tackling because defenders will bounce off of him if you don’t bring good feet. Really good player in the run game, very effective in the pass game. We’ve got our hands full with him.”

Herbert, Allen and Ekeler will be the toughest quarterback, receiver and running back trio the Bears have faced this season, but Chicago may be getting Los Angeles at a good time.

These past three weeks, the Bears’ defense had made some much-needed improvements. The Commanders, Vikings and Raiders only scored a combined 44 points on offense, which averages to just 14.7 points per game. The defense has also created six turnovers in that span (four interceptions and two fumbles).

Credit needs to be given to coach Matt Eberflus and what he has been able to do with the defense.

“For me, just seeing him all those years in Indy, it kind of feels like the same,” Borgonzi said. “It’s both the execution and the call. So, obviously his intensity, the way he calls a game, he’s got a great feel for in-game calling. It’s made a real difference.”

The Chargers, however, have been disciplined with not having turnovers on offense. Los Angeles only has five giveaways on the season, which is tied for the second-least.

The Bears’ defense is starting to figure some things out, and this primetime matchup will be a major test for the Bears’ linebackers and the entire defense to see if they can continue making strides in the right direction.

“Yeah, no, it’s exciting,” Borgonzi said. “Again, sometimes it takes a little bit and you can really see the defense these last few weeks, we’re playing fast, we’re playing physical and again, it’s not about the call, it’s about the execution. It’s not like we’re inventing new calls or anything. It’s the same defense we played last year, we’re just executing it better and part of that, too, I think is that guys are more comfortable in the system.”

Here are some of the top takeaways from Bears coach Matt Eberflus’ Wednesday press conference.

Injury updates

Starting with Justin Fields, there is no update on the Bears’ No. 1 quarterback. Eberflus mentioned that Fields is still working with trainers and is progressing, but Fields remains week-to-week with his right dislocated thumb.

Left tackle Braxton Jones and defensive end Khalid Kareem returned to practice.

Here is what Eberflus will be monitoring with Jones and his neck injury.

“Just functionality,” Eberflus said. “Is he functional in terms of his movements and what he’s done in terms of conditioning, that would be the second thing. Him working through it. When he feels like he’s ready and the trainers say that he’s good to go, we look at him as coaches, we’ll give him the green light. But I don’t know when that’s going to be. He’s got 21 days to figure that out. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later. “

As for Eddie Jackson, he was limited in Wednesday’s practice with the foot injury, and the team will have to wait and see if he improves throughout the week.

Rookie running back Roschon Johnson returned to practice, but he still has not cleared the concussion protocol.

“During the concussion protocol, they have these levels — with good reason — and he’s just gotta get one more hurdle today,” Eberflus said.

Darnell Wright went into last Sunday’s game against the Raiders with a hurt shoulder, and it showed throughout the game. On some snaps, Wright was basically only using his right arm to engage with opposing rushers.

“Yeah, he just worked through it,” Eberflus said. “I commend him for doing that. He was in some pain there and worked through it during the course of the day. He pushed through it. I know it didn’t look, for him, as well as he wanted it to, at times, but again, he’s working through that this week and we’ll see where he is. I just commend him for gutting it through. Being a young guy like that going against the pass rusher (Maxx Crosby) he was going against, my hat’s off to him.”

Game plan for Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa

The Bears’ didn’t want Maxx Crosby to wreak their offensive game plan, so they devised an offensive attack to mitigate his overall impact.

This week against the Chargers doesn’t get any easier with Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa. Mack has seven sacks while Bosa has three, and then add Morgan Fox’s five and you have a front that knows how to bring down quarterbacks.

Even though the Bears found a blueprint that worked against Crosby, it doesn’t appear the offense can copy and paste that same plan this week against the Chargers.

“There’s a different structure a little bit this week,” Eberflus said. “It’s the same stuff but a different structure, so you got to handle it a little bit differently. You got to be ready for those types of things. But it’s a little bit different.”

Trade deadline approaching

The NFL trade deadline is less than a week away.

General manager Ryan Poles was active last year, trading away veteran defensive players in Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn. In Poles’ second season as the GM, he has some players who are on their last year of the their rookie contracts: Jaylon Johnson and Darnell Mooney.

Johnson is coming off a two-interception performance against the Raiders. Mooney, on the other hand, is still looking to have his first breakout game of the season.

Here is what Eberflus said the method will be for this NFL trade deadline.

“Just looking, communicating,” Eberflus said. “He’ll (Poles) have me look at different players and then we’ll go from there and then just see where it is if wehave a viable option.”

The Bears defeated the Raiders, 30-12, to secure their first win at Soldier Fields since Sept. 25, 2022.

Here are some of the top takeaways from Eberflus’ Monday press conference.

Fields still doubtful

Eberflus wasted no time and provided an update on Justin Fields to start his Monday press conference.

“Really, no change,” Eberflus said. “He’s doubtful for this week, working with trainers, continues to progress. He’s just not there yet. Bagent will be our starter until that time he is cleared. So we’re squared away on that. Again excited for Tyson’s opportunity again this week, for him to start in a game.”

Eberflus did say he thinks things are “on the right path” when he was asked about Fields avoiding surgery or being placed on injured reserve.

Eberflus didn’t provide details when asked about the swelling in Fields’ right thumb, his grip strength or if he has thrown a football yet.

More to Bagent’s game?

Bagent displayed poise and understanding in the game plan that Luke Getsy put in place against the Raiders. He was efficient, completing 21 of 29 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown.

The rookie quarterback was sacked only once and ended the game with no turnovers.

One thing that worked against the Raiders was the Bears quick and short passing game, but that formula may not work for every opponent. Only one of Bagent’s 29 passes went beyond 15 yards.

Eberflus was asked if Bagent’s style of play allows the offense to open things up a bit.

“Oh, yeah. No question,” Eberflus said. “No question. Yeah, he’s a rhythm and timing passer, you know, and he’s got all the ability to do all those things.”

The game plan was designed that way because of the opponent and also since it was Bagent’s first NFL start.

“Obviously the first time coming out you want him to be very successful and, you know, I think it matters with the opponent you’re playing, the rushers you’re playing, the coverages they’re playing, what their style is, what their offense looks like,” Eberflus said. “I think it’s all encompassing.”

The Bears’ coach liked how Bagent targeted nine different skilled players throughout the game, which is something Eberflus wants to continue to see from the young quarterback.

Jaylon Johnson contract talk

After Jaylon Johnson’s pick-six, the veteran cornerback found the TV camera and did the “make it rain money” gesture.

Johnson is ready to have discussions about a contract extension – whether that is with the Bears or another team. After the game, Johnson said, “I feel like I’m one of those guys that can be paid at a high level.”

Eberflus was asked about Johnson and whether he believes he should be paid like a top-tier player at his position.

“Obviously, I’m not going to talk about money with contracts,” Eberflus said. “But I’ve always enjoyed seeing those guys get what they are due. All the guys that I have coached and had produce, and a lot of guys at a high level, it’s good to see that when it happens. I’m always happy for them and their families when it happens. But that’s all I’m really going to say about it. Again, I’m not going to get into the negotiations of all those things. That’s between him and Ryan. We’ll see where it goes.”

Eberflus has liked what he’s seen from Johnson this season in terms of his stickiness at the top of routes and his improved tackling. And now, he is starting to create some turnovers with his two interceptions against the Raiders.

The Bears’ veteran cornerback finished his pick-six off Raiders quarterback Brian Hoyer, took off his helmet and found the FOX broadcasting camera. With his defensive teammates surrounding him, the back of Johnson’s left hand faced crowd while his right hand made it rain money.

“Damn right. 100%,” Johnson said after the game when asked if he was sending a message with that celebration.

On the following drive after the pick-six, Johnson intercepted rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell to give the Bears three interceptions on the day. Tremaine Edmunds also intercepted Hoyer in the Bears first home victory in 392 days.

Johnson is currently playing through the final year of his rookie contract, and the former second-round draft pick believes he deserves to be paid.

With the NFL trade deadline approaching (Oct. 31), general manager Ryan Poles needs to keep Johnson a part of this Bears team instead of trading him off to any potential suitors that may be interested.

Last season, Poles traded Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith within a five-day span to accumulate future draft capital for the veteran defensive players. Depleting the overall talent on the team ended up working in the long run for the Bears since Chicago secured the No. 1 overall pick and traded that to acquire DJ Moore and additional draft picks.

The Bears may have just won their second game since Smith was traded on Oct 31., 2022, but the organization needs to look into keeping talented players instead of trading them for “potentially” talented ones.

Johnson is a good football player, and it shouldn’t be automatically assumed Poles will find a quality replacement that has been as dependable as Johnson has since he was drafted in 2020 out of Utah.

The main criticism, and it’s a valid one, is that Johnson hasn’t created enough turnovers in his career. After Sunday’s Week 7 victory against the Raiders, Johnson has just three interceptions, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 44 games played.

His other interception occurred 28 games ago in the Week 2 win over the Bengals in 2021. Johnson forced one fumble in Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this season. Then in Week 1 against the 49ers in 2022, and in Week 12 of the 2021 season on the road against Detroit. Outside of the Buccaneers game, the Bears won each time Johnson intercepted a pass or forced a fumble.

Jaylon Johnson’s case for an extension

Here is how Johnson stacks up among other cornerbacks with a minimum of 50 snaps since 2020, according to Pro Football Focus

• 12 TDs allowed (T-23rd among CBs)
• 34 forced incompletions (T-14th)
• 119 receptions allowed (T-45th) for 1,666 yards (25th most)
• 213 targets (31st)

Johnson’s 22.2 passer rating allowed this seasons also ranks No. 1 among all cornerbacks, according to PFF. The veteran corner is ready to have those discussions about a potential contract extension.

“I’ve been wanting to get to the table,” Johnson said after the Raiders game. “At the end of the day, I know who I am. I know I can play this game at a high level. I feel like I deserve to be paid like that. I’m taking that attitude for any team, for any and everybody in the NFL. I mean if it’s with the Bears, then I’ll do that. If it’s with anybody else, for sure I gotta. I feel like I’m one of those guys that can be paid at a high level.”

Of course, the Bears will have to look at his entire work portfolio to gauge whether he is worth a new contract. Against the Raiders, Johnson was penalized twice. Once for illegal contact and then a 46-yard pass interference play led to a field goal. But those were his only two penalties of the season so far, and each season that number has gone down.

The money will be an interesting conversation for Johnson. For comparison, Jaire Alexander agreed to a four-year, $84 million contract extension with the Packers in May 2022. On top of being an elite cover corner, Alexander also has 10 interceptions since 2018.

Johnson clearly doesn’t have that many picks, but he does get asked to shadow opposing No. 1 wide receivers, like Alexander, and always wants that top-tier matchup.

To make things more interesting, the Bears invested in the cornerback position in this past draft, moving up to select Tyrique Stevenson with the No. 56 overall pick and then Terell Smith with the 165th pick in the fifth round.

Although both of the rookies have had some positive moments throughout this season, it doesn’t hurt to have quality depth at a premium position, and that’s what Smith could provide should the Bears choose to keep Johnson.

And for most of Johnson’s Bears career, he hasn’t played with a defensive front that has made his job easier. Johnson isn’t someone, though, who would blame the lack of pass rush on why his turnover numbers aren’t greater.

Maybe Poles will look to address the team’s defensive front in the next offseason, which would help the entire secondary.

So instead of creating another hole, the Bears should keep Johnson and make him a key piece on the defense for seasons to come.

“He took what they (the Raiders’ defense) was giving him,” Moore said. “He stayed within himself. He didn’t go out and do nothing extraordinary.He just stayed calm, collected and do what he had to do.”

In Bagent’s first career NFL start, the undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University finished 21 of 29 for 162 yards and a touchdown. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.

He played on time, in rhythm and distributed the ball to his playmakers. Eight different players caught a pass, and Moore led the Bears with his eight catches for 54 yards.

Bagent executed the game plan that offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and the rest of the Bears’ staff constructed for the Week 7 matchup. Bagent didn’t have the weight of the entire game on his shoulders. Instead, the young quarterback was a game manager, and that’s exactly what Bears coach Matt Eberflus wanted.

“We wanted him to have good rhythm, timing, good protection; don’t let 98 (Maxx Crosby) wreck the game,” Eberflus said. “Those were all our keys to victory. And distribute the ball to skill players, and when you’re able to run the ball the way we were, they have to come up the line of scrimmage and in some good advantageous pass situations for us offensively. Overall it was a really great effort by the whole group.”

The offensive line was part of the reason why the entire offense was able to execute effectively. The O-line did so despite having a different combination in the interior. Cody Whitehair moved to left guard, Lucas Patrick was Bagent’s center and Teven Jenkins played right guard.

Despite the different interior, Bagent was only sacked once, and Maxx Crosby didn’t wreak havoc and blow up plays like he has been doing all season. Bagent got the ball out quick and the line held up.

Teven Jenkins noticed Bagent’s comfortability in the huddle.

“He’d tell us like how many seconds (were) on the play clock,” Jenkins said. “He’s good at changing up the cadences. That was very good of him. I was very impressed by how he kept on changing cadences and everybody on top of it. I felt like he was really good back there.”

On the Bears’ first touchdown scoring drive of the game, Bagent found rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott for a 13-yard gain over the middle of the field on third-and-5. The Raiders were playing man coverage, and Scott was the third progression on the read.

“I got outside leverage, stretched my guy and was able to win at the top,” Scott said. “Turned my head and seen the ball coming. Third down had to make a play. You know, I think that’s just him trusting in me, and me trusting in him. That’s what I said all week, ‘Like, man, I got your back. I’m here for you.’ That’s huge, just building trust between a quarterback and receiver and we ended up scoring on that drive.”

Bagent stayed composed on that play to Scott, but did so for a majority of the game. Even though he did say he was nervous going into the game, but after that first snap, he mentioned it was then the nerves began to disappear.

Bagent credits his overall calm demeanor to all the football he has played in his past and what he has had to overcome to get to the point he is at currently in his life. And he understands this opportunity may not last, especially since Eberflus said Justin Fields is still the starting quarterback if he is healthy.

So for now, Bagent will enjoy the present, knowing that he helped his team get a much-needed victory.

“Where I come from, I’ve got a bunch of friends, a bunch of family that understand,
understood how big this was, just really in life,” Bagent said. “Not a lot of people get to say they started an NFL game, let alone win an NFL game. So definitely had a lot of those conversations today. I think the staff understood it, too, and the players. That’s why everybody has rallied behind me as well as they did. So I was able to take it in with a handful of different conversations that I had throughout the week.”

In this episode of the CHGO Bears Podcast, hosts Will DeWitt and Nicholas Moreano brace for Sunday’s matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Las Vegas Raiders. With Justin Fields doubtful due to his thumb injury and undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent likely to make his first career start, the team is at a challenging crossroad. Tune in as Will and Nick dissect the prospects of a Fields-less offense, evaluate the Raiders’ quarterback situation with Jimmy Garoppolo’s back injury, and more! Expect expert analysis, bold predictions, keys to the game, x-factors, and more as they prepare you for the game ahead.

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Justin Fields exited early after he injured his thumb on the Bears’ first offensive drive of the third quarter. Fields ended the game with 58 passing yards — the lowest in his NFL career since he became a full-time starter. One of his 10 pass attempts was also intercepted.

The offense finished with just 275 total yards, which was more than Minnesota, but the Bears’ offense looked overwhelmed by the Vikings’ pressure all game. As for the Bears’ defense, the unit only gave up one touchdown — a 10-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Jordan Addison.

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and safeties coach Andre Curtis spoke to the media on Thursday at Halas Hall about some key plays throughout the game. Here is what they had to say.

Third-and-7 at MIN 38 with four minutes left in 2nd Q

The Bears started this drive with a deep completion in the middle of the field to Darnell Mooney for 39 yards.

On the next two offensive plays, the offense gained just three yards. A 1-yard run for Darrynton Evans and then a pass to Evans for two more yards on second down.

With the Bears down 6-3 and facing a third-and-7 from Minnesota’s 38-yard line, Getsy called a run for Evans. Many people questioned the call when it happened, but apparently it was the exact call Getsy wanted at the time.

“Is that the one we ran Darrynton for just about two yards? Yeah,” Getsy said. “That was our premier look. We had that as a check that we wanted to get to when they played in their Double-A defense. We had it when we wanted, we just didn’t finish those blocks. I think then guy reached out and tripped Darrynton on it. Like that one was close where we were really close to having about a 15-yard to 25-yard gain on that one. We had the exact thing we wanted, we were prepared for it. That was what we wanted there. We just didn’t do it there.”

Instead of the 15-25-yard gain that Getsy said could’ve happened, the Bears gained just three yards. Cairo Santos made a 53-yard field goal to tie the game at six.

Third-and-7 at MIN 48 with 10:43 left in 3rd Q

The first Bears’ offensive drive in the second half started with two runs for positive gains. D’Onta Foreman ran for a six-yard gain on first down. Then Fields scrambled to his left for an 11-yard gain.

On first-and-10, the Vikings brought six defenders, and Fields escaped the pocket and bailed to his right for a 3-yard gain. Then Evans was stopped for no gain on second-and-7.

The Vikings had eight defenders on the line of scrimmage presnap, and then dropped five and rushed only three. The Bears had Cole Kmet and Darrynton Evans help with protection on the play before running their routes.

D.J. Wonnum beat Larry Borom on a spin move and forced Fields out of the pocket. On the backside, Danielle Hunter chased down Fields and the Bears’ quarterback flipped the ball out of bounds as he was taken to the ground for a sack. This was Fields’ last play of the game.

It appeared DJ Moore may have been open in the middle of the field on that play. Here is what Getsy said about the coaching point on the play and whether there was an opportunity to hit Moore.

“Yeah, they dropped eight,” Getsy said. “And so, any time they dropped eight the point of emphasis was if your primary wasn’t open we’re extending the play. And so he was in that mindset, right? Darnell didn’t finish that play, if you recall. We had two people, had Ja’Tyre in, Darnell on Danielle there. And so we were extending the play. So we were trying to create basically what you’re saying. And so all of that part of it is when you’re on third down, when you’re in the gold zone and then people want to drop eight, you’ve got to extend some plays because the windows are going to be all foggy, right?

You have people dropping all over the place. But if you can extend the play now you create huge windows for yourself. So that was kind of the thought process.”

Second-and-3 at CHI 10 with :12 left in the 2nd Q

Bears coach Matt Eberflus made it difficult for the Vikings to find much success on offense. However, Minnesota was able to move the ball late in the second quarter. The Vikings went on an 8-play, 77-yard touchdown drive to take a 12-6 lead before the first half expired.

The Vikings took advantage of the Bears’ zone coverage and lack of pass rush and were able to find the end zone.

Curtis broke down what happened on the second-and-3 play from the Bears’ 10-yard line.

“There’s a lot of things that go into a situation like that, especially rush and coverage,” Curtis said. “It’s always a combination of the two. There were three players on that side who were kind of responsible for that as well as the D-line. TJ, Tyrique, Jaquan, they could all play things a little bit better. Could rush a little bit better, just being on the same page and just preparing the guys to be as good as they can in all those situations.”

Even if only he and his father were the only ones who believed he could accomplish that dream. For Bagent, he just needed to figure out how he could outwork the competition that had better facilities and resources around them.

Bagent did just that.

He went on to break school records at Division II Shepherd University. After a historic college career, he still went undrafted, but made his way onto the Bears’ roster with his training camp performance combined with displaying his overall functional intelligence and work habits.

But if, for some reason, Bagent didn’t make it to the league, he had a backup plan.

“I was going to basically just CrossFit my life away, get as ripped and jacked as I possibly could and be a teacher at Martinsburg High School,” Bagent said.

Instead of being a jacked high school teacher, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound quarterback will get to use his physical makeup and intelligence to prepare for the Week 7 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Technically, Justin Fields hasn’t been ruled out with his right dislocated thumb injury he sustained against the Vikings, but Fields is still listed as doubtful to play this Sunday at Soldier Field.

This allows Bagent to make his first career NFL start — something he isn’t taking for granted.

“It means everything,” Bagent said. “After the last game of my college career, I was talking to a good buddy of mine. We were kind of talking about hey, no matter how good or bad this goes at the next level, there is a very big chance that maybe you make the team but you might never get to start a game ever again in your whole life. You may never get that QB1 role ever again. That’s just kind of how the apple falls from the tree sometimes. But to look where I’m at and to look how everything has kind of fallen into place, just nothing but extreme gratitude and just feeling super blessed to be able to be that kind of motivational role to the younger people in my family, kind of be that person they can look up to and just really motivation for everybody that may be at a smaller level and all the people back home.”

Bagent is a believer that everything in his life has already been planned out and is already set in stone.

“So I’ve got nothing to lose,” Bagent said. “I’m going to go out there and fight with these guys to the death and try to stack up as many wins as a I can until we get Justin back.”

As an undrafted quarterback out of a Division II school, if Bagent can lead this Bears team to a single victory for however long Fields will be gone, that should be viewed as a victory in itself.

But his teammates and his coaches think higher of Bagent. The reason for that is because of what they have already seen in the young quarterback.

After Fields went down in the third quarter in the 19-13 loss to the Vikings, Bagent stepped in. He had a shaky start with a fumble that led to a Vikings scoop-and-score. The following drive ended on an incomplete pass on fourth down. Then the third drive ended in a 3-and-out.

But Bagent led the Bears on their only touchdown drive of the day, which ended with a Bagent 1-yard run.

“I think just training camp you see all the plays that he made, the throws that he made,” DJ Moore said on Wednesday. “Then going out there and performing when he got the chance. This past Sunday, you see what he can do almost getting us back to get the win. Look forward to having new energy and new juice from him coming in. He’s going to do whatever it takes to win.”

Unlike last week, Bagent will have time to prepare and rep with the starting offense. Even though Bagent will likely be the starting quarterback on Sunday, he doesn’t want offensive coordinator Luke Getsy to be afraid to call anything on the play sheet. He prides himself in his preparation, and Bagent said whatever they decide to call will be understood.

Sunday will be a day to remember for Bagent. At Soldier Field, his family will be in attendance to see the once Division II quarterback make his first start in the NFL.

“Everybody’s really excited,” Bagent said. “I think everybody’s kind of just curious on how I’m kinda feeling, letting me know that if I’m freaking out behind the scenes they’ll come up early and hang out with me. I told them I was all good with that. I got a lot of people coming on Sunday. Everybody’s pretty excited.”

Bears coach Matt Eberflus provided an update on the injury Fields sustained in the third quarter against the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, but not much has changed.

“It still comes down to the grip strength, where he is later in the week,” Eberflus said. “We’ll see. Right now he’s working with the trainers and that’s progressing well. We’ll see where it is. We still think he’s doubtful for this week.”

Eberflus was asked whether surgery was on the table if the grip strength didn’t improve. The Bears’ coach said the team will have some clarity later in the week and that “nothing’s off the table, nothing’s on the table right now.”

One positive that Eberflus mentioned was that the swelling has gone down some in Fields’ right thumb.

But is this an injury that Fields can play with if it’s simply taped up?

“That’s where it is … other people that have had this injury, it’s gone that way where they’ve taped it and gone through it and they’ve played, and it’s been a week to week thing, and then all the way to having surgery and them being out,” Eberflus said. “We don’t know where it is yet. We’ll figure it out later in the week.”

Eberflus wouldn’t say there is hope Fields can play against the Raiders, but he did mention the team is “optimistic where it is, but we don’t know.” If Fields is unable to go, Tyson Bagent will be making his first start of his NFL career on Sunday against Las Vegas.

Changes coming to the offensive line?

During Eberflus’ opening statement, he made it clear about his stance on the Bears’ offensive line.

“Relative to the offensive line combinations and questions on that, I’m not going to answer the combinations there right now because we’re working through those things right now,” Eberflus said. “We certainly like, by force many times, to have those different combinations because of training camp and various injuries that we’ve had, of course, during the course of the year. That of course gives us some flexibility to put guys inside — guard center, center guard — and at the tackle position. That’s where it is. We’re going to finalize that later in the week of course.”

Against the Vikings, Nate Davis went down in the first quarter with what ended up being a high ankle sprain. Eberflus said Davis is “not likely to play this week” and that he’ll be week to week.

Cody Whitehair also was replaced late in the third quarter by Lucas Patrick. Throughout the game, Whitehair’s snaps were inconsistent, which threw of the timing of the plays and forced Fields to adjust based on the snap’s trajectory.

Eberflus was asked Whitehair has had errant snaps in practice or if it’s just showing up in games.

“It’s been a little bit during practice, some,” Eberflus said. “But again that’s always an issue when you work through and change positions. I think that when you have that, but again, it’s not been like it’s been glaring. There’s been some of it. But again we’ve corrected it, made those adjustments. It’s got to be better than what it was on Sunday.”

Matt Eberflus and two players address the media and usually do so after losing in a disappointing fashion the day before.

Here are the top takeaways from Eberflus, Jaylon Johnson and D’Onta Foreman after the Bears lost to the Vikings 19-13 at Soldier Field to drop the team to 1-5 on the season.

Injury Updates: No timetable for Justin Fields’ return

Eberflus started his press conference by announcing that Justin Fields dislocated his thumb in Sunday’s loss to the Vikings.

“X-rays were negative,” Eberflus said. “We did the MRI today. There’s no timetable right now and it’s really going to come down to grip strength. There’s natural swelling that occurs with this injury. We really should know more at the end of the week.”

With the injury on Fields’ throwing hand, the third-year quarterback is doubtful to play this Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field.

Eberflus was asked if surgery was needed, but the Bears’ coach did not answer and said, “At the end of the week we’ll know more.”

The Bears’ coach also highlighted he doesn’t have all the information yet “because it’s not there.” So the team wants to give it time to see where things will go.

If Fields does have to miss some time, the coaching staff feels confident in rookie Tyson Bagent because of what he has already done to put himself in position to be the No. 2 quarterback.

“Just what he showed during training camp,” Eberflus said. “What he has shown to this point. His work habits, his functional intelligence on the football field, his acumen in the classroom being able to operate is very high. He’s able to chunk a bunch of information together and simplify in his mind to understand concepts. I think his release is really quick. I like that. I like how he sees the field. He’s very patient, very poised in there and it’s a good opportunity for Tyson.”

Eberflus also mentioned that Nate Davis will be out against the Raiders due to a high ankle sprain he sustained in the first quarter. It will be a week-to-week injury for Davis.

Eberflus was also asked about Braxton Jones. At the time there is no update with the Bears’ left tackle.

Rookie cornerback Terell Smith has been dealing with mono, and Eberflus said he will be out three to four weeks with the illness.

Phil Snow hired as senior defensive analyst

The Bears have hired Phil Snow to fill the senior defensive analyst position. Snow was the Panther defensive coordinator from 2020-22 before he was fired shortly after Carolina fired coach Matt Rhule.

Snow has over 40 years of total experience in college and in the NFL and has been a defensive coordinator at both levels.

“What he will be doing is our advance scouting,” Eberflus said. “Along with the personnel department, they do the personnel side of it, obviously giving us updates on personnel, on tendencies and all those things. He’ll be doing advanced scouting for our defensive staff. He’ll be giving us summaries of all the situations during the course of the week.”

Snow will be at Halas Hall throughout the week and provide the Bears staff with reports. He will not be at the games, but will serve as an analyst for the advance scouting.

Defense trending in right direction

The Bears’ defense held the Vikings to 19 points — making it the lowest point total Chicago has allowed all season. One of the Vikings’ touchdowns also came off a Tyson Bagent fumble that was returned for a score.

Eberflus’ defense also held Minnesota to just 2 of 13 on third down, easily the best the unit has done.

Veteran cornerback Jaylon Johnson returned for his first game since Week 3 on Sunday against the Vikings. Johnson could feel the difference in the defense.

“Honestly it felt good,” Johnson said. “I felt like we played dominating football outside of that two minute before the halftime. Other than that, I feel like we dominated the game. Of course we wanted more turnovers, but I thought overall we dominated. I think what did they have, 130-some yards passing? So different things like that were a good step in the right direction. So we’ve just got to keep building, keep finding ways to come together, stick together, to be aggressive, go out there and have energy and let our execution drive our energy and just continue to keep that juice throughout the duration of the game.”

Foreman on Bagent

If anyone knows what it’s like to fill in for an injured teammate, it’s Foreman.

He has plenty of experience taking over as the lead back when starters have gone down in his six-year career.

Bagent did that on Sunday against the Vikings, and Foreman liked what he saw from the young quarterback.

“We gotta be better on offense as a unit,” Foreman said. “But as far as him in the huddle, I think he commanded the huddle really well. We’ve seen his poise and his presence through training camp, preseason and then even at practice, running the scout team and stuff. I don’t think he showed anybody anything different than what we expected him to be. If he does get the chance to go out there and start I think everybody will rally behind him, I think he’ll handle the moment, and himself, well.”

The Vikings had six players lined up on the line of scrimmage — one more than the Bears could block. No adjustment was made, and the Bears paid for it.

That play was the perfect example to foreshadow what eventually transpired in the Bears’ 19-13 loss to the Vikings at Soldier Field. This latest loss after a dominant victory over the Commanders on Thursday Night Football a week ago showed not only do the Bears struggle with putting together a proper game plan but they can’t capitalize on prime opportunities.

Everyone knew going into this game that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores liked to blitz. That was one of the biggest talking points for the offensive players and coaches for this Week 6 matchup.

Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said earlier in the week that the offense needed to have answers when the Vikings would bring extra defenders to apply pressure. Clearly, the Bears’ offensive game plan provided none.

“I’ll have to go back and look at the tape,” Bears coach Matt Ebeflus said following the loss. “Definitely for sure, there was some protection things in there where we had to do a better job. It wasn’t clean all the time. But I certainly think we got a rhythm a little bit there going. Again we just got to do a better job with the overall execution there. But again, we gave ourselves a chance to win the game at the end and we just didn’t get it done.”

Eberflus consistently talks about how the execution could be better with his football team. It’s the one thing you can actually count on with the Bears. The execution being off.

The Bears took their lack of execution to another level on Sunday. Snapping the ball became a difficult task throughout the entire game, and that was especially true for Cody Whitehair.

Justin Fields left in the third quarter due to a right hand injury. He finished the day 10 of 14 for 83 yards and an interception and was sacked four times. Tyson Bagent played the rest of the game with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter. Lucas Patrick was Bagent’s center for the entire last quarter of the game.

Eberflus was asked why the Bears decided to put Patrick in for Whitehair.

“Yeah, so the change at center,” Eberflus said. “Lucas obviously was going through concussion protocol during the week and when Justin went out and we had Tyson in there we thought it was best for our team to have the guy that had more experience in there playing center. That’s that position that we have that Lucas has played for a long time. He has a lot of experience in there. We thought that would settle Bagent down little bit.”

Bagent later was asked about the center switch and said during scout team he doesn’t work with either Whitehair or Patrick. So Eberflus can say one thing, but it definitely looked and felt like Whitehair was benched for his snapping issues.

Ironically, on Bagent’s interception, Patrick’s snap was high and slow. So it really didn’t matter.

The last time the Bears won against an NFC North opponent was on Nov. 25, 2021. This Week 6 matchup against the Vikings easily could’ve been an opportunity to end that drought, especially since Minnesota was without Justin Jefferson.

But the Bears proved yet again that they are still a bad football team. One that is poorly coached and incapable of showing any type of positive growth.

Nobody in the NFL is blitzing opposing quarterbacks more than the Vikings through the first five weeks of the 2023 season.

Even though the Vikings haven’t created much pressure when they have blitzed, the Bears still need to respect and have answers for it when it inevitably gets called on Sunday.

Here are what Bears players and coaches are saying about the Vikings’ blitz-heavy defense.

Quarterback Justin Fields

What do the Vikings do with their blitzes that you have to account for?

“They do a lot,” Fields said on Wednesday. “Of course, they have a talented defense. They do a lot. A lot of vets on that team – good front, good secondary. Just gotta be looking out for everywhere. They can bring anybody from anywhere – corners, from nickels to linebackers to cover zeros to whatever. You just gotta have a plan ready to go. Everybody’s gotta be locked in for this week and just be able to perform on Sunday.”

Coach Matt Eberflus

How much of a challenge is it to prepare for the amount of pressure the Vikings bring?

“It’s unique to bring 61 and a half percent pressure,” Eberflus said on Wednesday. “So it’s unique that way. We have a plan for that. Again this is a big day for us to be able to work that plan of how we’re gonna handle that and work against that pressure. But it’s certainly brings many challenges for our offense.”

Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko

When you face such a blitz-heavy team like the Vikings, what are some of the complications just at the quarterback position that Justin needs to be aware of when facing a team like that?

“I think we have to have answers,” Janocko said on Thursday. “You know when you play a scheme that is complex, every scheme gives you different things, this obviously gives you a little bit of a unique approach. So you just have to have answers, and if you have answers and, you know, it allows you to snap the ball and not flinch. Then it gives yourself a chance.”

Offensive line coach Chris Morgan

When you go against a blitz-heavy team in the Vikings, what are the difficulties for an offensive line to prepare for a unit that likes to bring a lot of exotic stuff?

“You just got to play with great eye discipline,” Morgan said on Thursday. “You have to have great communication, and you have to be ready cause they’re going to move.”

Offensive Lineman Larry Borom

What are some of things you need to focus on when you play a blitz-heavy team like the Vikings?

“You got to play with your eyes,” Borom told CHGO Sports on Thursday. “You got to understand your rules and the responsibilities you have and just know where things are coming from.”

What do you mean by play with your eyes? Like don’t get fooled by a blitz that actually isn’t coming?

“No. I feel like this week is more of if you see something and you think it’s coming, it’s probably coming. Playing with your eyes and seeing it, seeing the whole play before it kind of happens and just being aware.”

Running Back D’Onta Foreman

The Vikings like to bring the blitz. How does that impact you at the running back position?

“I mean, you know, just got to follow my rules,” Foreman said on Thursday. “Just do what I got to do. Follow my rules, and I think everything will take care of itself.”

In this episode of the CHGO Bears Podcast, hosts Mark Carman and Nicholas Moreano provide an in-depth preview for the Week 6 matchup between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears are coming off their first win of the season. Can the Bears extend their winning streak to two games against their NFC North foe? Mark and Nick share what it will take to make that happen. Tune in for expert analysis, bold predictions, keys to the game, x-factors, and more!

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Minnesota will be without its No. 1 offensive threat in Justin Jefferson on Sunday against Chicago. The Bears meanwhile are trending in the right direction to potentially have their entire starting secondary.

Kyler Gordon (hand) and Eddie Jackson (foot) were limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) was limited on Wednesday and improved to being a full participant in Thursday’s practice.

With the Vikings being down arguably the best wide receiver in the league, the Bears’ secondary has an opportunity in this Week 6 matchup at Soldier Field to make a statement regardless of who is able to play.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus mentioned that one of the benefits of not playing an elite playmaker like Jefferson is that you don’t have to tilt the defense’s coverage to one direction and can play more basic and solid on both sides.

For Jaylon Johnson, he understands how much Jefferson means to the Vikings.

“That change a whole lot,” Jefferson said. “They already lost Dalvin Cook and he was pretty much their guy in the run game and now they lose their No. 1 target in the pass game for the last four years. So they definitely have some stepping up to do I know for the other receivers, and I’m sure they’re looking forward to the opportunity to get some targets thrown their way. Because with 18 out there, it’s a different ball game. Definitely I know they are going to come in hungry. They are going to try to establish the run I’m sure. Get out there and be physical. So we have to match that and top that actually and go out there and dominate like we know we can.”

Against the Commanders on Thursday Night Football, a depleted and young Bears secondary made key plays to help Chicago secure its first win in nearly a year. Greg Stroman Jr. intercepted quarterback Sam Howell and finished with a sack. Terell Smith forced a fumble and made the recovery.

Credit to Stroman and Smith making the most of their opportunities, but the secondary would get a significant upgrade if Gordon, Johnson and Jackson are able to play.

According to Pro Football Focus, Johnson has given up just five receptions for 73 yards and has one PBU through the first three games.

Gordon was one of the Bears’ top performers throughout training camp, but he was injured late in the third quarter in Week 1 against the Packers and was forced to go on IR.

Cornerbacks coach and passing game coordinator Jon Hoke knows the defense would get a big boost if he can return on Sunday.

“Having him back is a huge plus because he has really good experience in there, he has very good instincts as a player, he’s a physical guy, he’s a good blitzer,” Hoke said. “He has a lot of attributes that you’re looking for in that position, and he does them at a high level.”

Hoke needs to see where Gordon is at with his conditioning these next few days to be comfortable with him playing on Sunday. Hoke was impressed with Gordon’s movement skills, though, after watching him go full speed on Wednesday.

And for Jackson, Hoke likes where he is at and said the veteran safety has “been really good in the meetings.”

On Sunday, the Vikings will be brining one of the most productive passing attacks into Soldier Field through the first five weeks. Kirk Cousins leads the NFL in passing touchdowns with 13 and is second in passing yards with 1,498.

Rookie first-round pick Jordan Addison has caught 19 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns while tight end T.J. Hockenson has added another 30 receptions for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Addison and Hockenson should be expected to do more with Jefferson out. The Bears will have to make sure they don’t allow the rest of the Vikings’ supporting cast to make their impact felt in this game.

The Bears’ secondary is getting healthy at the right time, and Johnson is looking forward to seeing what the group can do with all the starters back in the lineup.

“Shoot. That’ll bring the energy, bring the juice,” Johnson said. “I think the DBs last week started that off. I think they played a very solid game holding that down for us. So we definitely have to get back and up the energy, up the execution. Just get back what we were missing. Kyler was out there early. And then Bojack was out the next game. Just getting everybody back, we have to come back and we have to start that click. We don’t have time for any more mess-ups or anything like that. We’ve got that all out the way. We have to come back and execute at a high level.”

Since 2008, Bears Care has “raised funds to benefit programs providing care, assistance and support to breast cancer patients and their families” with the “Real Bears Fans Wear Pink” shirts, according to the Chicago Bears website.

Here are three takeaways from Eberflus’ presser:

How Bears adjust defensively with no Justin Jefferson

The Vikings will be without their top playmaker in Justin Jefferson for their Week 6 matchup with the Bears. Jefferson was placed on IR with the hamstring injury he sustained in the Week 5 loss to the Chiefs.

Eberflus was asked how his defense will change with the No. 3 leading receiver in the league in terms of yards (571) out of the lineup.

“I mean you certainly adjust your scheme to a great player like that,” Eberflus said. “It’s always a handful of guys that you would do that for. So it allows you to play more basic, more solid on both sides as opposed to tilting your coverage one way or the other. So that’s the basic way of saying it without giving too much away. But I do believe it certainly allows you to play your base way that you normally play against a normal guy, normal people rather than playing against a guy that’s elite in the top two or three in the league, which he is.”

In two games last season against the Bears, Jefferson caught 16 passes for 192 yards — with 154 of those yards coming in the Week 5 matchup in Minnesota.

The Bears will take any breaks they can get, but Eberflus still wouldn’t say it’s a sense of relief.

“I mean, I don’t know if there’s any relief on defense, you’re always on edge, so you gotta make sure you have that sense of urgency to defend and play fast and to play physical,” Eberflus said. “So we’re always on edge that way.”

Impact of explosive plays

Believe it or not, but the Bears are ranked in top three in the league in explosive plays of 20 or more yards.

The offensive outputs against the Broncos and Commanders the past two weeks definitely helped boost that number, but what has been the biggest factor that has allowed the explosive plays to increase?

“I would just say us taking the shots down the field,” Eberflus said. “You look at last game. I know the guys made some plays or went for some plays and we ended up breaking off some big ones. I would just say the shots down the field, then guys executing the calls. We’ve just gotta continue to do that. Some are short runs and catches and some are shots down the field like the first third down we had. Those are designs and those have been executed well.”

Eberflus also mentioned that on the 50/50 balls downfield there needs to be a trust factor between Justin Fields and his intended target — which has primarily been DJ Moore. Eberflus acknowledged that he would like to see the other skill get involved in those deeps shots as well.

One of the reasons to get more players involved in creating those explosive plays is that defenses have to adjust when they are being executed.

“You do see it,” Eberflus said. “Now, we didn’t see that much of an adjustment last week. We saw a lot of single high the entire game and singled up on DJ, but we’ll see in different variations of shell coverages, we’ll see guys lean coverages certain ways, all the things that guys in the NFL do, but we will see that adjustment, for sure.”

Will Teven Jenkins start?

As Eberflus usually does he gave some updates on the team’s injuries for this week.

Roschon Johnson and Lucas Patrick- who could not finish the Thursday night game against the Commanders- are still in concussion protocol. Kyler Gordon and Doug Kramer are in the 21-day window to practice.

Patrick’s injury could impact how the offensive line shapes up for the matchup with the Vikings. Cody Whitehair originally started at left guard against the Commanders, but filled in at center after Patrick left the game.

Teven Jenkins and Ja’Tyre Carter rotated at left guard throughout the game. Jenkins made his 2023 season debut against the Commanders, and he showed no signs of rust. He didn’t allow a single pressure or sack in 37 offensive snaps — according to Pro Football Focus.

Despite Jenkins’ dominant performance, Eberflus left the door open about Jenkins starting at left guard against the Vikings.

“The rotation will be, we’re going to work through that during the process of this week but we certainly liked where he was last week in the game coming off of that long stint he had,” Eberflus said. “He heals fast and he healed well, which was really good for us. He did a nice job when he was in there.”

With Johnson still in concussion protocol and Khalil Herbert still dealing with an ankle injury, D’Onta Foreman is the next man up. The Bears also signed Darryton Evans off the Dolphins practice squad earlier in the week.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said during his Monday press conference that the team is looking to add a senior defensive assistant that would work ahead for upcoming opponents.

“It would give us certainly ideas and things, how to attack that upcoming opponent,” Eberflus said. “Just to get another set of eyes for advancing for us in that. Again, I don’t have names. I don’t have a timetable for that right now at this time. But that will be coming shortly. And we’re looking forward to adding that — if we choose to do that.”

Some of the attributes that Eberflus highlighted when asked further about the position, included experience in the league, familiarity with the Bears’ scheme but “also has different experiences to think outside the box, which brings a new fresh perspective.”

It wouldn’t hurt to bring in an individual who does bring a different perspective, considering that the defense through the first five weeks has been one of the worst in the NFL.

The Bears’ defense is ranked third-last in total yards, points given up per game and last in passing yards given up. It has allowed opposing offenses to convert on 57 percent of third downs and the team’s seven sacks are tied for the second-least in the league.

The defense hasn’t seen much of an uptick since Eberflus took over as the defensive play caller in Week 2. Thursday night’s 40-20, win over Washington produced the best results of the season. The Bears’ defense sacked Sam Howell five times, created two turnovers (a fumble and an interception) and held the Commanders to just three points in the first half.

Eberflus mentioned he’s had some great conversations and has received positive feedback from people interested in the position. One person who is not on the list of candidates, though, is Eberflus’ former mentor Rod Marinelli.

“He’s very comfortable in retirement,” Eberflus said. “He’s out in Vegas right now. We talk weekly though for sure.”

Adding a senior defensive assistant to the Bears’ staff would be something new for Eberflus. While he was in Indianapolis for four years, he didn’t have a senior defensive assistant, but he did have someone helping him “advance,” which Eberflus said was a good thing.

With the Vikings coming up on Sunday, now would be a good time to add another person in the defensive room. Even though Justin Jefferson is dealing with a hamstring strain, he is third in the NFL in receiving yards with 571. Kirk Cousins leads the league with 13 passing touchdowns.

The Bears’ defense should be open to all suggestions when it comes to helping the unit.

A senior defensive assistant is a good start.

However, the victory came with a cost.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, running back Khalil Herbert is expected to miss multiple weeks with the ankle injury he sustained on the first offensive possession in the second half against the Commanders.

On third-and-5 with 9:33 left in the third quarter, Justin Fields escaped the pocket and attempted to throw a pass to Herbert, but the throw was off. Herbert tried adjusting his body but his right cleat got stuck in the ground. The third-year running back bent awkwardly and was unable to make the catch.

Herbert had his right ankle heavily taped following the injury and came back into the game two drives later. On first-and-10 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter, Herbert got the handoff and tried planting on that right ankle, but he couldn’t and was stopped for no gain.

Herbert ended the night with 10 carries for 76 yards, including a 34-yard gain that helped put the Bears in position to score their first field goal.

Rookie running back Roschon Johnson also couldn’t finish the game against the Commanders due to a concussion. His last offensive play was a 4-yard run to start the second quarter. Two plays prior he took a big hit on a 10-yard gain.

Travis Homer also was hurt against the Commanders with a hamstring injury, so fullback Khari Blasingame was forced to play the running back position. Blasingame finished with a career-high eight carries for 26 yards.

With three running backs injured, D’Onta Foreman is the next man up for the Bears. The veteran back has been a healthy scratch since Week 2 against the Buccaneers. He signed a 1-year, $2 million deal this past offseason.

Foreman has had a history of being productive when he has been asked to play. During the 2021 season, Foreman filled in for Derrick Henry, who fractured his foot and went on IR for nine weeks. Foreman signed with the Titans on Nov. 2 and finished with 112 carries, 497 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Christian McCaffrey played six games with the Panthers before being traded to the 49ers last season. Foreman took over and finished with 203 rushing attempts, 914 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

So if Foreman needs to be the featured back for an extended period of time, this won’t be new territory for the 6-year veteran.

The Bears also signed Darrynton Evans off the Dolphins’ practice squad, according to Pelissero. Evans was on the Bears last season. He played in six games, ran the ball 14 times and caught one pass for 97 total yards (64 rushing and 33 receiving).

Fields, who missed his first throw of the game on a deep shot to Darnell Mooney, dropped a dime to Moore down the left sideline for a 58-yard gain. `

Three plays later, Fields went to Moore again — this time for a 20-yard touchdown pass on third-and-14 to give the Bears an opening drive touchdown to start the game.

In the Bears’ 40-20 blowout victory, Moore was the only wide receiver to catch a pass with Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan accounting for the rest.

But the sixth-year veteran finished with eight receptions for 230 yards and three touchdowns.

Moore’s Thursday night performance was exactly why general manager Ryan Poles had to have him when he traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers.

“It makes my job easier,” Fields said after the game. “They left him one-on-one for more times than I thought they would tonight. So, when you always have him one-on-one, he’s going to win 95 percent of the time. Just thankful for him to be honest, he makes my job way easier. He showed up tonight. Eight catches for 230? That’s a crazy stat right there. He definitely did his thing for sure.”

Fields ended the night with 282 passing yards, four touchdowns and he added 57 yards on the ground. The Bears’ quarterback was able to build off of his first 300-yard passing game and four passing touchdowns against the Broncos, and did so because of Moore.

The two were in sync all night, and they even got LeBron James’ attention.

On the Bears’ third offensive possession in the third half, Moore turned a simple six-yard stop route into a 39-yard gain by spinning off the cornerback and running up the right sideline. Five plays later, Fields and Moore connected for their second touchdown of the game.

The 11-yard score was reminiscent of the plays Fields and Moore were connecting on at a consistent clip throughout training camp. Moore ran a double move, got behind the defensive back, elevated and came down with the catch.

After making the catch in the left corner of the end zone, Moore started to high step and raised both his arms as he was greeted by his teammates on the sideline.

“It was just fun,” Moore said. “Football is fun. Out there playing a kids game, you know, at the end of the day I just looked at it that way. Tonight the stars aligned and all glory to God for it so I’m just happy to win.”

Even though Moore made Bears history with his 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns, he should’ve had even more. Fields connected with Moore along with the right sideline on another stop route and again spun off the defender. The 6-foot, 210-pound receiver then worked up the right sideline, avoided an ankle tackle and waited for Mooney to make a block, but the play was blown dead because Moore apparently stepped out of bounds.

Even on the televised replays, it was tough to see when that happened.

“That really pissed me off because I was about to score,” Moore said. “I could’ve had four touchdowns. I mean the ref has to do his job but at the same time, it is what it is. We got the win so I’m not too mad on it.”

Bears coach Matt Eberflus was asked about the play in his postgame press conference, and he said he wouldn’t comment on it and did so with a smile. Fields thought the refs should’ve let the play continue and review it afterwards.

That drive ended in a Cairo Santos field goal to make it a 30-14 game. The Commanders scored a touchdown on their next possession and forced a 3-and-out.

Despite a Washington missed field goal on the next series, the Bears’ 30-20 lead with just over five minutes in the fourth quarter needed some insurance.

Fields and Moore provided that with their 56-yard touchdown connection on third down. The cornerback was a step slow on the stop route and Moore called game.

“Justin just put it in a good spot,” Moore said. “The DB was trying to jump it. He threw it out to where I could catch it and it was off to the races.”

The 20-point victory not only snapped the Bears’ 14-game losing streak but also provided a sense of relief for a team that has been through so much through the first four weeks of the season.

“It just felt good,” Fields said. “Just seeing all the hard work pay off. Especially you know, getting a win after everything that’s happened this year. Everything in the media, everything on the outside it just feels good when you can say that hard work paid off, so again, I’m proud of everybody in the building, I love everybody on my team. Players, coaches, shoot, everybody upstairs. I might not even know them, but I love you all. So, I mean that that feeling was a feeling that you never want it to end and you know, we just got to keep this momentum going and just get ready for Minnesota coming up next week.”

Chase Young, Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Montez Sweat provide a lot of complications for any offense, but especially for this Bears offensive line. Through four games, Justin Fields has been sacked 17 times (third-most in the league), and he has been under pressure on 47.4% of his dropbacks — according to Pro Football Focus.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy described the Commanders’ front five as having one of the best fronts “in this league.” Getsy called some bootlegs that moved the pocket against the Broncos and had some success, but the Commanders ability to rush the quarterback will create an extra layer of difficulty.

“It’s a challenge every week,” Getsy said. “When you have a guy like we have (Fields) and everybody is planning for it (bootlegs), and then now you put the level of talent that these guys have, it’s pretty incredible. The two interior guys play the game as good as anybody in this league – being able to diagnose what’s going on, you know, get two hands on an offensive lineman, see what’s happening in the backfield and then react. It’s a challenge, so we have to do a really good job to try to be creative and get every aspect of our game going.”

Getsy mentioned being creative, which was also something similar that Cole Kmet brough up in his Monday press conference when asked about the Commanders’ defense.

“Really good defense coming up,” Kmet said. “Thursday night. Quick rebound here. And ya know a lot of the guys we played last year are still on that team so you can use the tape from last year and look at it. But yeah, we’re going to have to be creative in some regards but also go at them and wear them down up front and you know understand that this defensive front I think is one of the best in the league.”

In the matchup in 2022 against Washington on Thursday Night Football at Soldier Field, the Bears were held to a touchdown in the 12-7 loss. Fields finished 14 of 27 for 190 yards, threw one touchdown pass and an interception, and he was sacked five times.

Getsy will have to devise a game plan that not only caters to Fields’ strengths but at the same time mitigates the pass rush from the Commanders. This will be a tough balance to find.

Two plays from the Broncos game could be a good indication as to how things could go on Thursday night. Getsy described the touchdown to Khalil Herbert and the Fields’ sack-strip fumble as being nearly identical, but obviously both had completely different outcomes.

“Whenever you have what we refer to as a dirty edge, which pretty much every bootleg keeper that we have is a dirty edge, you have to come out high,” Getsy said. “When you see the rusher is high, you got to pull up. He didn’t do that on that particular one (the strip-sack fumble). He did that on the other one and created a touchdown for us. That’s part of the learning experience that you get in games and seeing everyone game plan for you specifically.”

Getsy knows that opposing teams are game planning specifically for the bootlegs, so he needs to cognizant and willing to adjust when the defensive ends blitz off the edge and commit strictly to Fields. It’s on the quarterback to get depth on those bootleg keepers, but Getsy can also help Fields out by not being so predictable and repetitive at times.

The Bears understand they have a tough challenge on Thursday night, but they are ready for whatever Washington brings.

“I mean, yeah, they have a pretty good front four,” Fields said. “Not (only) their D-tackles, of course, you know they’ve got Montez (Sweat) and Chase (Young) and the D-ends, but yeah guys are just gonna have to be great on double teams, sustain blocks for a long time and really just protect. So we know everything kind of starts with the O-line so they know they’re going up against a talented group, but they’re excited because it’s an opportunity for them to go out there and ball out. So I’m excited for those guys as well and, of course, Washington as a whole, they’re a talented defense. So we’re excited as an offense to be able to go out there and showcase what we can do.”

The reason for a defeated Fields despite throwing for 335 yards and four touchdowns on 28 of 35 attempts?

Another devastating defeat.

The Bears lost to the Broncos, 31-28, at Soldier Field on Sunday — the 14th straight loss for the team dating back to last season. There have been some tough losses in the losing steak.

Kanas City whooped Chicago 41-10 at Arrowhead a week ago. The Packers embarrassed the Bears 38-20 in the home opener in Week 1. In 2022, the Bears had a one-point loss to the Lions and lost in a 35-32 shoot out to Miami.

None of those, though, compare to this one. The Bears had a 21-7 halftime lead thanks to Fields. He finished the first two quarters 16 of 17 for 231 yards and three touchdowns. His only incompletion was off a Hail Mary attempt.

“Yeah, I mean, it hurt,” Fields said after the game. “Just come out with, I don’t even know, just the lead that we had, you know, and I wasn’t able to finish it off.

“Of course it hurt. Almost like, I don’t know — it’s just, yeah. Emotions are just flowing everywhere, so, yeah.”

Those emotions left Fields staring at the ground of his locker as the team somehow, someway let another game slip away. In the loss, Fields had his first 300-yard passing game, and made several big-time throws, but it was all for nothing.

“Yeah, we were in a rhythm,” Fields said. “Luke (Getsy) was dialing it up. Guys were protecting up front and the receivers were getting open. So we were definitely in a rhythm but you know, at the end of the day, we lost the game. So it really doesn’t matter.”

The Bears extended their lead to 28-7 with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter. After that, all hell broke lose.

Denver quickly scored on the next possession with a 7-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. The Bears’ offense followed with a 3-and-out. Courtland Sutton finished a 10-play, 66-yard touchdown drive with a 13-yard touchdown to make it a one-score game.

Then on a naked bootleg on first-and-10 from Denver’s 48, Fields was hit as he tried to throw the ball. The ball ended up on the ground, and Jonathon Cooper scooped up the fumble and returned for a touchdown, tying the game at 28.

“I mean, it’s tough because the rule on boots, nakeds, is no sacks,” Fields said. “So in that situation, of course you’d rather have a sack than a fumble scoop and score for
a touchdown. You know, me personally, I turned around, he was right there. I was just trying, you feel me, to dirt the ball, and it just didn’t end up working that way. If I could do anything, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can really do anything on that one to be honest with you. I just tried to get the ball out and I don’t know what the down and distance was on that play but just make an incomplete pass and move on to the next play.”

Despite everything in the second half, the Bears still had an opportunity to win the game. The Bears moved the ball down the field after starting on their own 25-yard line. They eventually were faced with a fourth-and-1 opportunity on Denver’s 18-yard line.

Instead of taking the lead, Bears coach Matt Eberflus elected to go for it. Prior to the play, Khalil Herbert had 17 rushes for 103 yards — averaging 5.7 yards per carry. The Bears lined up in the shotgun, Fields handed the ball to Herbert, and he was tackled for no gain. Turnover on downs.

“Yeah, just because of the way we were running it,” Eberflus said on the decision to go for it on fourth down. “It was a half a yard. So I felt very confident about getting that right there. Every situation is different. You’ve got to look at the game in its entirety, and I think that the way we were running the football and the confidence that we had on offense in that moment, I would say that you know, we’re going to do that right there.”

Darnell Wright also was sitting at his locker after the game. He was soft spoken, as he usually is, but it appeared something was bothering him.

“The fourth down was probably on me,” Wright said. “I had a critical error on a block. I mean we had, it put us in a good situation. Just have to execute.”

Wright also said he came off the ball late, and the linebacker was able to make the tackle to stop Herbert short of the first down. Herbert mentioned after the game that he just “has to find a way to get it.”

But Fields, Cole Kmet and Herbert all backed up the decision to go for it on fourth down.

“I mean, if you get it, the game’s over most likely, you know,” Fields said. “Got to make the them use their time-outs. Probably getting past the two-minute warning, and then at least you’re kicking a field goal with under a minute left. So I love the decision. It shows, you know, Coach has trust in us to convert on that and in that situation. And you know, we’ve just got to execute.”

The Broncos then went on a 5-play, 48-yard drive that ended in a 51-yard field goal to give Denver a 31-28 lead with 1:46 remaining in the game. Fields was intercepted on the last drive, attempting to hit Kmet in the middle of the field, but the two had a miscommunication on the route and that sealed the game.

It’s been a long time since the Bears last won a game — 342 days to be exact. And those losses are starting to take a toll on this team. Fields put up his best statistical game of his career, and the result didn’t change.

The Bears are still searching for their first win of the season and now have a quick turnaround to face the Washington Commanders on Thursday Night Football on the road. For Fields, he had a simple message to his teammates.

“Keep going. Never stop,” Fields said. “No matter how hard it gets, never stop. We’re playing for each other. I’m playing for each and every guy in that locker room. They know that I’m going to give my all, and you know, I know I’m going to get the same thing back from them.
So keep going, don’t be discouraged, and play every play and every game like it’s your last. So that’s the message.”

Claypool was asked by ESPN’s Courtney Cronin on Friday if he feels like he has been put in the best position as a receiver to showcase what he can do.

After a seven-second pause, Claypool shook his head and said, “No.”

In 10 games played for the Bears going back to the 2022 season, Claypool has just 18 receptions for 191 yards and one touchdown — which came in the Week 2 loss to the Buccaneers this season.

Following Claypool’s one-word “No” answer, the Bears’ receiver was asked if the situation was not ideal.

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Claypool said. “I think every situation has the ability to be ideal and I think we’re just working towards that. I’m not going to say that. I wouldn’t say it’s not an ideal place for me. Obviously there’s other places – you can say, ‘Oh, I want to be on the best offense with the highest passing yards’ but that doesn’t happen in football. You just have to make do with what you got.”

Claypool may have a point with not being used properly, but he hasn’t made things easier on himself. Everyone saw his lack of effort when it came to blocking against the Packers in Week 1. Also, when the 6-foot-4, 238-pound receiver has been targeted on contested catches this season, he is 0 for 4, according to Pro Football Focus.

Right now, the Bears have a dysfunctional offense — scoring just 15.7 points per game (27th in the league). The Bears’ 445 passing yards are also ranked 31st in the NFL. Only the New York Jets have been worse passing the football.

On Sept. 20, Justin Fields initially signaled out the coaching for the reason why he was thinking too much, which caused him to feel robotic and not playing like himself. Fields later backtracked those comments.

Regardless, Fields said what he did for a reason, and now Claypool has voiced his opinion as well.

After Chicago’s 27-17 loss to Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers put out a Mic’d up video with linebacker Devin White. The mic picked up a quick intercation that White had with DJ Moore.

White: “They ain’t using you right.”

Moore: “Oh, tell me about it.”

If the Bears’ offense continues to spiral in the wrong direction, it would not be surprising at all to hear more players voice their displeasure.

On the opposite side of things, the Bears coaches have been persistent that the offense is close to a potential breakthrough.

“I think we’re real close,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said on Monday. “I really do. I know a lot of people say it’s a far way away. I don’t believe that. I think we’re close. I think it’s more about the details of the individual person. If we just keep doing that right, right things are going to happen.”

Bears quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko also had a similar feeling about the direction of the offense and where it’s heading.

“I think we all have a belief in what we’re doing and where we are going,” Janocko said on Thursday. “I think we believe in the product that we’re trying to put together, and so if we didn’t think we were close, then, you know, we would have a lot of other problems. I think we all believe. I think everybody’s on board to make sure that we’re going to do what we can this week to score enough points to win the game.”

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy even said on Thursday that the team was “in the process of building something special.”

Right now, the Bears aren’t building anything special on offense. This team desperately needs to find some success on that side of the ball or things may get a lot worse as the 2023 season continues.

On Monday Night Football against the Steelers at Heinz Field, Fields threw for 291 yards and a touchdown in the 29-27 loss. That passing mark is still Fields’ highest total to date.

The Bears were down 26-20 with 2:47 left in the fourth quarter. Fields led his team on a 7-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Darnell Mooney 16-yard touchdown in the back left portion of the end zone. One play before, Fields dropped a dime to Allen Robinson down the right sideline for a 39-yard pick up.

The Bears took a 29-27 lead with 1:46 left in the game, but the Bears defense allowed the Steelers to score the game-winning field goal. Cairo Santos attempted a 65-yarder, but the kick fell way short.

Although the Bears lost, the takeaway was the Bears had themselves a quarterback. In addition to what Fields did through the air, he also added 45 yards rushing — his third-highest total in his rookie season.

A lot has changed for Fields since that Monday night performance.

Fast forward to now, and the Bears are currently on a 13-game losing streak dating back to the 2022 season. And the Fields who went into Pittsburgh and gave his team a chance to win, seems like a distant memory.

Former Bears director of player personnel Josh Lucas, who was a part of the Bears when the team moved up to select Fields with the No. 11 overall pick, gave his thoughts on the quarterback in an in-depth interview on the Parkins & Spiegel Show.

“I went back and watched the Pittsburgh game from 2021, Monday Night Football,” Lucas said. “That’s a different player out there. I’m telling you that is a different person wearing that helmet with the swag and the way he is moving around versus the guy I’m seeing right now.”

For Bears fans, this is a doomsday type of comment, especially since it’s hard to argue with at the moment. Fields may have lit the league up in 2022 with his 1,143 rushing yards, but the passing element has not been there.

There are a lot of reasons to that, too. It starts with Fields not processing and seeing the field as quickly as a quarterback in Year 3 should. The playmakers, especially last season, were non-existent.

The game plans from Luke Getsy — who was not with the Bears in 2021 — have not helped either.

Regardless of the reasons, Fields is not showing the progress that was expected through the first three games of the 2023 season. Through three games, Fields has completed 51 of 88 passes for 536 yards, thrown three touchdowns and ran for one and has been intercepted four times, including two pick-6s.

Despite Fields’ struggles, Getsy still sees the same quarterback when it comes to confidence and the ability to throw downfield that played against the Steelers in 2021.

“Yeah, Justin has a tremendous amount of confidence,” Getsy said. “I think it’s like you said, there is a lot of moving parts when you’re playing on an offense. It’s 11 as 1, and right now we’re not clicking all 11 as 1. I know it’s easy like I said to pinpoint it on one person, but it’s not. And so we got to make sure that we go out and we got to get that synchronized a little bit better and we’ll go and get some points.”

Obviously Getsy wasn’t going to say Fields doesn’t have that confidence and ability to throw downfield anymore, but there needs to be more tangible evidence on the field to see if Fields can turn things around and become the quarterback that many envisioned him to be.