Over the past month, Justin Fields has been spectacular. I mean that in the truest sense of the word. When he takes off for 60+ yard touchdowns or when he hits deep balls with pinpoint accuracy, it’s a sight to behold. Jaw-dropping stuff. It’s gotten to the point that no matter what kind of trouble Fields faces, the question isn’t if Fields can extend the play, it’s how he’ll extend the play.
On Sunday, Fields did it time and time again, highlighted by his 67-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a fourth-quarter lead. The play set a Bears record for the longest run by a quarterback. The previous record was Fields’ 61-yard touchdown against the Dolphins last week.
But Fields doesn’t care.
“I don’t care about breaking records, I just want to win games,” Fields said.
It’s a similar feeling for the offense as a whole. The Bears have come a long way over the first half of the season and are putting up big point totals after hanging with the bottom feeders of the league earlier in the year. They’ve doubled their scoring output, averaging 15.5 points per game over the first six games of the season, and 31 points per game over the last four. But it feels hollow since the offense hasn’t been able to make big plays when they’re needed most at the end of games. In back-to-back weeks they’ve had opportunities to take the lead late in the game, but they’ve lost the two games by four points combined.
“Just finish,” Fields said.
Of course the Bears want to win games, and they need to learn how to close out tight contests to take the next step in their growth as a team. But they’ve clearly got the right guy to lead their rebuild, and with a little more help and a little more experience they could be winning tight games more often than losing them.
