Justin Fields running the ball in Monday night’s win over the Patriots represented a shift for the Bears’ offense: Not because Fields ran the ball a lot (he always does) but because this time, he was running by design and not by necessity.
The Bears repeatedly called for Fields to run the ball on Monday night, whereas for the first six games of the season, Fields usually was running only because the play broke down, he couldn’t find anyone open downfield, the pass rush was getting to him, and he had to try something desperate.
The result for the Bears was their best offensive performance of the season in a 33-14 win over the Patriots. Fields was pleased with the play calling.
“I thought they were good,” Fields said of the quarterback designed runs, via NBCSportsChicago.com. “I thought it brought a whole different element to our offense. I thought we executed that well and they were definitely some explosives in the designed runs for sure.”
Given how talented Fields is at making plays with his legs, it’s surprising that it took the Bears so long into the season to make this adjustment. But there’s no doubt that it worked. The Bears may always be a run-first offense (they lead the league in rushing yards and they’re last in the league in passing yards) but on Monday night they showed a way that they can win with Fields at quarterback.