CHICAGO — It might be ironic, but Chicago quarterback Justin Fields could have been auditioning for the Falcons in the Bears’ 37-17 victory Sunday at Solider Field.
The Bears traded with Carolina last season and are set to have the first pick and another top-10 pick in the NFL draft in April. Ryan Poles, the current general manager of the Bears, did not draft Fields.
He was selected by former Bears general manager Ryan Pace after the Falcons passed on him in 2021 draft. The Falcons selected tight end Kyle Pitts.
Fields acknowledged the uncertainty of his future in Chicago after the game.
The win over the Falcons could have been Fields’ last game as a Bear in their stadium, so he soaked it all in. He took a look around after his thorough performance.
“I did,” Fields said. “I did. But I always do that. I just made a big emphasis on living in the present moment. I definitely did.”
Fields completed 20 of 32 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. Fields also had a rushing touchdown while rushing 11 times for 45 yards.
“Definitely remember this game for the rest of my life, just the atmosphere, the fans, the chants, the snow,” said Fields, who played at Harrison High, Georgia and Ohio State. “I don’t like snow as a quarterback, but looking back on it, it was great. Just the atmosphere, the fans, the game, playing the hometown team where I’m from, beating them, it was good day today.”
The Falcons may have to re-evaluate their decision to pass on Fields. They have botched the transition from Matt Ryan.
The franchise tried to trade for Deshaun Watson, but were beaten out by Cleveland. That misguided move forced the Falcons to trade Matt Ryan to the Colts and send them down the quarterback rabbit hole.
Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke have started games over the past two seasons.
The Falcons were hoping to develop Ridder into an NFL starter. They were hoping that he could be their quarterback of the future.
However, Ridder was benched twice this season in favor of Heinicke, who played at Collins Hill and Old Dominion. Heinicke has carved a nice career as a backup in the NFL.
The Falcons will be in the quarterback market this offseason and will have to reconsider their decision to pass on Fields.
Fields is a dual-threat quarterback. He cut up the Falcons’ secondary with some pinpoint passing.
With the Falcons geared up to take away his top receiver, Fields completed nine passes for 159 yards and a touchdown to wide receiver D.J. Moore. Falcons defensive end Calais Campbell said Fields looked like a “premier NFL quarterback” against the Falcons.
One of the knocks on Fields was that he supposedly couldn’t quickly read defenses. He read the Falcons’ defense just fine.
“I mean, that’s their defense, so we were expecting some one-on-one matchups,” Fields said. “Of course they did leave (Moore) one-on-one most of the game, but that’s how they been playing guys all year.”
The Falcons tried to mix up their coverages.
“Sometimes they would have a safety over the top, but I think we moved them a good bit to where they couldn’t do that with our motions and shifts,” Fields said. “(The offensive) line did a great job, and I mean, (Moore) did a great job getting open all day.”
Fields has cut back on his running after rushing for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
The Bears used him on rollouts and reverse rollouts to take advantage of his mobility. Fields also stayed in the pocket when the Falcons maintained the integrity of their rush lanes.
He had a nice check-down to running back Roschon Johnson that went for a 24-yard gain.
Fields gashed the Falcons’ pass defense through the game. He had seven pass plays that went for 21 yards or more.
“Everything worked, no turnovers,” Fields said.
This may have been Fields’ best game in the NFL.
“Yeah, like I told ya’ll early this week, 200 (yards), two touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks,” Fields said. “Of course, we didn’t get the sack thing going, but whenever you play a game and don’t turn the ball over, it’s always going to help the team.”
The Falcons’ quarterbacks combined to throw four interceptions.
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