Bills pull away to defeat depleted Bears 35-13; Justin Fields ‘fine’ after late injury - Chicago News Weekly

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Bills pull away to defeat depleted Bears 35-13; Justin Fields ‘fine’ after late injury

A photo of Bears quarterback Justin Fields running with the ball against the Bills.

Fields is constantly scrambling because of offensive line and wide receiver deficiencies.

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The Bears have a history of perpetually turning something into nothing. Now they’re asking quarterback Justin Fields to turn nothing into something.

Sometimes he can, but this team is presenting him with increasingly ludicrous scenarios. The latest challenge? See if you can beat the favorite to win the Super Bowl without your top three wide receivers and top two offensive linemen.

The best Fields could do in those circumstances Saturday was get within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Bills prevailed 35-13 in what was just another step in the Bears’ trudge toward the No. 2 pick in the draft.

It was exactly the type of situation general manager Ryan Poles needed to prevent: A game in which the Bears had so little talent on the field that it illuminated nothing about their future.

And even worse, the game ended with Fields limping to the sideline with what appeared to be a left leg injury. He came out of the injury tent with his helmet on and threw two warmup passes, but backup Nathan Peterman finished the final 1:02.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Fields got his foot stepped on and was “fine.”

What could possibly be learned about Fields when he had no one to block for him, no one to whom he could reliably throw and no supporting cast in the ground game? He usually has to do without a credible defense to back him up, too, though that side of the ball actually played decently against the No. 4 scoring offense in the NFL.

If this is how it’s going to be, with minimal help and minimal protection, it makes no sense to play Fields in the final games. It’s not accomplishing anything at this point.

Fields completed 15 of 23 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown for a 92.5 passer rating — fairly efficient, but far from prodigious. He also ran seven times for 11 yards.



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