Justin Fields finally became what Bears fans had dreamed him to be, looking at times like the fastest and most gifted player on the field Sunday.
The Bears walked onto the field Sunday without coach Matt Nagy and outside linebacker Khalil Mack. They left it with a loss — but also having found a playmaker.
Behind a defense that melted like a caramel apple left out in the sun, the Bears lost 33-22 after leading the 49ers 3-0, 10-3, 13-6 and 16-9 at Soldier Field. They lost their third straight game to fall to 3-5.
But Justin Fields finally became what Bears fans had dreamed him to be, looking at times like the fastest and most gifted player on the field. The rookie quarterback made up for the Bears’ shortcomings — and there are many — and made the home fans gasp with amazement, even if they muttered curse words about the play of a dwindling defense.
Fields went 19-for-27 for 175 yards and a 84.6 passer rating that was almost 20 points higher until he threw his only interception down 11 in the final 90 seconds. He ran 10 times for 103 yards.
His biggest highlight came at one of the game’s most critical moments. On fourth-and-1 at the 49ers’ 22 yard line in the middle of the fourth quarter, acting head coach Chris Tabor — filling in for Nagy, who has the coronavirus — decided to go for it. Fields took the snap from under center and rolled right — and right into the arms of a waiting defensive end Arik Armstead.
Fields hit the brakes, though, and slipped underneath the diving defender. Still seven yards short of the first-down marker, Fields planted his right foot on the right hash and cut left past another diving defender, sweeping toward past the left hash and then outside the numbers.
Left tackle Jason Peters’ backside block gave him room to run up the sideline and, finally, past the first down marker. Darnell Mooney’s block of Josh Norman at the 15 allowed Fields to duck back inside and run, untouched, for the 22-yard touchdown. It was the longest run of his career.
Cairo Santos’ missed extra point meant the Bears were still down one. Five plays later, it’d be eight. Jimmy Garoppolo marched the 49ers down the field in only five plays, capping the drive with a five-yard gain, his second touchdown run of the game. Amazingly, it marked the sixth-straight possession in which the 49ers scored — three first-half field goals followed by three second-half touchdowns. They’d add a seventh, a field goal, to seal the game.
The Bears were up seven in the third quarter when the 49ers, facing third-and-19 from their own 16, decided to throw a simple screen before punting. Deebo Samuel caught the ball on the left flank and sprinted up the sideline for 83 yards before he was pushed out at the 1. Garoppolo tied the game with his first touchdown run and the 49ers never looked back.
The Bears’ offense was efficient — the team didn’t punt until the two-minute mark of the third quarter — but settled for three field goals in their first four possessions. The lone touchdown was an eight-yard dart from Fields, who was rolling left, to diving tight end Jesse James.
Fields was efficient, converting five third downs in the first half alone. He was also flashy; he faced third-and-8 at the 49ers’ 14 on the first drive of the second half when he dropped back and was about to be swallowed up by two of the best defensive players in the NFL.
Fields rolled left, stepped over a diving lunge from Nick Bosa and seemed trapped in by all-pro linebacker Fred Warner, who was rushing from the left. Fields performed a pirouette back toward the middle of the field, throwing his left shoulder backward and spinning, and escaped for a five-yard gain before running out of bounds. Marquise Goodwin was held on the play, too, giving the Bears a first down. Still, they settled for a field goal — an apt finish to a telling drive.
from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/3pTtZNz
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