The Chicago Bears were without leading receiver Kevin White for the entire 2018 NFL season after he sustained a broken collarbone in Week 4. So it’s no surprise that the team finished the season with the worst passing offense in the NFL, as they threw for just 692 yards in 10 games. But the Bears are not alone in the bad passing offense category, as the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers all finished with the worst passing offenses in the league.
When the Chicago Bears are on defense, they play an aggressive style that disrupts opposing offenses. In Week 2 against the New York Giants, Chicago got a big performance from edge rusher Khalil Mack, who had 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He’s quickly becoming one of the NFL’s top pass-rushers, something that’s rare for a player of his size.
The Bears defense is one of the NFL’s worst, and in particular their pass rush is facing harsh criticism. During last year’s regular season, the Bears finished 26th in sacks, 26th in fewest pressures and 31st in fewest total pressures. When they met the Detroit Lions in Week 17 at Soldier Field, they did their best to set the record straight.. Read more about pass rush and let us know what you think.
If you’ve ever seen an NFL practice, you’ll notice that the defensive line wears one color jersey, the offensive line wears another, and the quarterbacks wear a third. The third, typically bright-colored jersey tells the squad one thing: DON’T HIT THE QUARTERBACK.
The Chicago Bears’ lauded defense and deficient offensive line evidently missed this message during training camp, and the team’s new $18.8 million investment was met with an unpleasant surprise.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected quarterback Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick.
Justin Fields understands that the Bears haven’t had a great franchise quarterback in a long time, and he’s relishing the opportunity to change that. QB1’s interview with me: https://t.co/n5Xf5QRX2L
August 2, 2021 — Alyssa Barbieri (@AlyssaBarbieri)
Since Sid Luckman took snaps for the Bears, they haven’t had much success at quarterback. Since then, the greatest Bears quarterbacks have been Jim McMahon and Jay Cutler.
The club moved up one place in the draft to get Mitchell Trubisky in 2017. With a playoff participation and a Pro Bowl appearance under his belt, the former North Carolina Tar Heel had a nice run at Soldier Field, but he didn’t do well overall.
In the offseason of 2021, Chicago decided not to re-sign Trubisky. The team felt it would be wiser to move up one more and choose Fields, a former Ohio State Buckeye, at No. 11 in this year’s selection.
The Georgia native received a large deal in exchange for his draft spot, and he is now the best chance for Bears fans looking for a franchise quarterback.
During an early training camp session, the Bears’ defense roughed up Fields.
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images/Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears
Fields, a 6-foot-3, 228-pound quarterback, passed for 5,373 yards and ran for another 867 at Ohio State. He also scored a total of 78 touchdowns. He’s a model contemporary NFL quarterback, and the Bears are hoping he can follow in the footsteps of Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.
The Bears must first keep Fields healthy until Week 1 in order to bring him to that stage. They had a scare in this regard early in training camp. According to Sports Illustrated:
Near the conclusion of Saturday’s Bears practice, there was a frightening incident…. The pass rush hammered Fields throughout practice. On one play, the pressure was so strong that it knocked the rookie quarterback to the ground. He seemed more than a little taken aback, and with good cause. In practice, no one is permitted to touch the quarterback, much alone knock him to the ground; in this instance, it wasn’t like he was clobbered, but someone in a scrum made contact as he followed through.
A story from Sports Illustrated about the Chicago Bears’ training camp
Fields eventually stood up and seemed to be in good health. Shortly thereafter, he was calmly conversing with head coach Matt Nagy, but the event did highlight a problem for the 2021 Bears. Teven Jenkins and Germain Ifedi, the left and right tackles, were both injured and were replaced by backups Elijah Wilkinson and Lachavious Simmons. On offense, the club has very little depth up front, which might be an issue for Fields or Andy Dalton under center if the pass rush becomes serious.
According to reports from camp, Fields is extremely confident.
“Confidence is a wonderful term because he’s not cocky,” Matt Nagy said of Justin Fields. He has a lot of self-assurance.”
August 2, 2021 — Chris Emma (@CEmma670)
With the season less than a month away, Nagy is sticking to his guns, claiming Andy Dalton will start for the Bears in Week 1. The former Cincinnati Bengal and Dallas Cowboy, on the other hand, isn’t the most mobile signal-caller. If the offensive line struggles persist, the 11th-year veteran may have a serious problem.
This may force Nagy’s hand and push Fields into the starting lineup sooner rather than later. Fields should be OK if that occurs, according to his coach, who says he has a lot of faith in him.
Fields’ confidence is a wonderful term, according to Nagy. “Because he isn’t arrogant. He has a lot of self-assurance.”
That confidence won’t be on display when the Bears face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football on September 12, but don’t be shocked if Fields shows up shortly after.
Sports Reference provided all stats.
RELATED: Matt Nagy Talks About How an Inspirational Giannis Antetokounmpo Quote Has Helped Him Deal With Justin Fields’ Situation
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This article broadly covered the following related topics:
- bears lineman
- chicago bears draft news
- chicago bears new offensive lineman
- chicago bears needs
- chicago bears fields
