After a sprinkling of snaps in Week 1 and an Andy Dalton injury in Week 2, Justin Fields finally got to see extended playing time as quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Even with Head Coach Matt Nagy yelling that Dalton is the Bears’ starting QB until he turns into a corn cob, Justin Fields will be taking over the reins and will start versus the Cleveland Browns this Sunday with Dalton remaining sidelined.
With Fields going from a featured artist to now debuting his first album, I wanted to breakdown exactly what his Week 2 performance against the Cincinnati Bengals showed and what exactly Justin Fields bring to the football field.
Fields was on the field for a few snaps in Week 2 before fully taking over after Dalton went down with 1:50 left in the first half.
Armed with 2 TOs, the Bears were in no rush on this drive so we get to see Fields operate in a somewhat non-frenzied situation. On the first 3rd down of the drive, Fields rips a Field Out route to his receiver with good timing and ball placement.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney runs a good route here and gets his depth on the Out (the Bears have had an epidemic of routes being run too short during the preseason which made the Bears QBs seem late on their throws). And Fields recognizes man coverage - from the endzone view you can see him peek over a couple of times - and executes the throws exactly how you would want. He lets this ball go right on 3 & a hitch which is so important cause it gives Fields space to lead his receiver away from the defender. Good stuff on his first 3rd down of the game.
On the next play we see an area where Fields can make an improvement:
The Bengals bring 5 on their pass rush and Fields ends up taking a sack on 1st down. The fact he didn’t feel comfortable throwing his first read is totally fine. But if he wants to be stubborn in going through his progressions, he will have to learn to consistently step up in the pocket and into his throw.
Fields drifts back and away and creates the pressure on himself. This is a habit that quarterbacks that trust their ability to create out of the pocket in college - including guys like Deshaun Watson and Baker Mayfield - have to not necessarily break but rein in. It’s a lean into the punch situation. Have to up & out of the pocket as opposed to just out.
Two plays later it’s 3rd down for Fields and the Bears offense:
The endzone angle of this play is what to focus on. You can see Fields’ eyes rapidly progressing as he goes from #12 Allen Robinson to Mooney and then tries to find RB #8 Damien Williams on the checkdown. The Bengals are bringing 5 on their pass rush and the Bears OL actually slides towards the pressure correctly (hooray!). Williams should be getting out on his route right away after confirming #59 doesn’t come as well, as #55 isn’t his protection assignment.
Since the RB doesn’t get out right away, by the time Fields finds him it’s a split second too late and he’s getting wrapped up as he’s attempting to make the throw. Details matter.
When the Bears got the ball in the 2nd half they started with three straight run plays, including a Zone Read that Fields kept to gain a 1st down where he flashed his ability to create.
Later in the drive the Bears are penalized for a False Start but I want to show what happened before the penalty:
This is the good stuff. It really is. Not only does Fields adjust the Bears 5-man protection to go out towards the Nickel in the slot (they would typically work to #55 by standard rules) he noticed it before the Bengals really tipped their hand:
Yes, it ends with a false start on RT Germain Ifedi, but it’s not like Fields had a lack of urgency in getting the ball snapped. As soon as he communicated to the OL he got back in the Gun and clapped away to get Bears Center #67 Sam Mustipher to snap the ball.
Sidebar: Mustipher’s faults crop up a lot in sorting protections and just basic operations of a Center. Don’t want to be too mean but he’s a glaring weakness for the Bears offense right now.
2nd & 15 now and the Bears call a 4 Verticals concept:
The Bengals bring a simulated pressure with a Tampa 2 coverage behind it - get the offense thinking they’re being heated up but actually playing something safe. With the added benefit of keeping the RB in protection and not out on a route. Which actually matters since the RB checkdown is a very good option on a 4 Verticals concept versus softer coverages.
I think the Seam from the slot was a live throw for Fields with how this defense played out. But Fields thought it was a single-high coverage and he was going to work the Over route to Robinson from the #3 spot - a fine answer if it did play out like Cover 1 or Cover 3. Fields got fooled a tiny bit but this is where his legs are such an asset. Rather than panic he just calmly tucks the ball and gains 7 yards to set up a more manageable 3rd & 8 for the Bears offense.
The 3rd & 8 wasn’t so pleasent however.
Again, the endzone view of this play is important to watch. As you can see Fields waiting for Mooney to win on his route from the #3 spot. When Mooney gets tangled up with the defender, Fields knows it’s time to try and create a throw.
While Fields didn’t have room work up into the pocket, it’s important to note why a QB working backwards in the pocket is a dangerous game. Offensive tackles are taught to pass set with the expectation that the QB is going to be setting up in the pocket at a certain depth. When the QB works backwards, the pass rushers can just loop around the tackles on their way for a sack.
Again, don’t think Fields had much else to work with here since the pocket got completely wiped out.
On the next drive after the Bears started with two run plays and a false start penalty on Fields (when Mustipher again wouldn’t snap the ball), the offense is in a 3rd & XL situation:
The Bears call a quick game concept here and Fields just takes the “gimme” throw to Allen Robinson. Basically “do you like your one-on-one? OK, throw it.” Quick & easy decision and Robinson does a great job getting the 1st down after the catch.
On the next play we get to see Fields complete the Over on a Y-Cross concept (technically F-Cross here, but I digress):
This is a concept that Fields shined at in college. And watch his eyes from the endzone view operate throughout this play. He starts with the Post, gives eyes to Jimmy Graham on his Out route to tie any lingering defenders down, then hits Mooney on the Over.
At first I thought Fields was late with how close Mooney is to the sideline. This is because this play is being run into the boundary and also starts from a condensed split at the beginning of the play. Mooney actually does a really nice job of throttling down just a hair on his route so he doesn’t crowd himself to the sideline.
Really good stuff from Fields and Mooney.
With the Bears now in the redzone and after a 1st down run that loses 3 yards. We get to see Fields create:
That is one very, very fast quarterback. I’ve already discussed a few times about how Fields needs to keep learning to step up in the pocket, but those are in the cases of a true pocket situation. As you can see here #91 Hendrickson doesn’t get to the edge to contain Fields in the pocket, completely leaving it open for Fields to exploit.
Fields evaporates the angle #94 Hubbard had on him and almost ends up scoring. Just a fun snapshot of just how athletic Fields is.
Next play. 3rd & Goal for the Bears:
The Bears create a 4x1 formation and THE CENTER STRAIGHT UP REFUSES TO SNAP THE BALL. Very frustrating. But on the bright side you get to see some of Fields’ leadership shine through. It’s obvious he plays with a lot of confidence in his abilities and here you can see him communicating with Mustipher after the play.
Fields ended the day going 6-13 for 60 yards. A statline that surely doesn’t scream a good performance. But the missed opportunities the Bears had would have painted a different picture for any box score scouts:
Fields felt so good about this throw he already started to give the home run trot after he threw it:
A good ball that Robinson catches more often than not (remember he created the 1st down earlier!). Fields could get this out perhaps a hitch sooner but his ball placement was very good and his eyes to confirm the Safety on the play are exactly what you want to see.
Now for the bad:
It’s 3rd down and the Bengals defense catches the Bears and get a free runner on the pressure. Fields is Hot based off the protection rules and does what most QBs would do: throws his Hot answer - the Crosser by #84 Goodwin - to get the ball out and replace the pressure.
The Bengals had a great design with #55 Wilson popping out into the Hot lanes (how many times have we seen the Patriots defense do this to QBs). This is a “Welcome to the NFL” play for Fields. The defense straight up just won here. The next step for Fields and the Bears offense are:
1) Adjust the protection so there are no free runners (easier if this is a scouted look).
2) Fields attacks fire with fire and goes with a deeper option rather than letting the defense rally and tackle.
So what was now a 20-3 game in favor of the Bears has now turned into a 20-17 nail biter. When the Bears get the ball back, firmly in a 4-minute drill trying to milk the clock, they are presented with a 3rd & 9 and about 3 minutes left in the game:
This is a Drive concept where the QB either takes an advantage throw on the outside or works the interior triangle of routes with the Crosser+Dig+RB Burst.
It looks like the hanging Robber Safety scares Fields off the Dig throw. As you can see him start to progress there before taking matters into his own hands. And just like Thanos, he did it all by himself. Not only having the athleticism with his legs to get upfield quickly but the size, strength, and balance to shed Hendrickson and gain the 1st down and let the Bears ice the game.
Like all film reviews, there’s positives and room for improvement with Justin Fields. The traits he showed in college - accuracy, intelligence, athleticism amongst others - have all been featured already throughout preseason and his first extended run as an NFL QB.
Fields has top-tier athletic ability but he still wants to do his damage from the pocket. He wants to work through his reads and you can see him progressing in a timely manner when he does have enough pocket time to work with. Trust me, he does not stare down his receivers unless it’s a one-read type of play. He will have to continue to work on his pocket movement, mostly just working up into it which is something a large majority of QBs have to learn in the NFL.
But what Fields has shown already is exciting. There are a lot of positive takeaways with his play that the stat line might not suggest and it’s going to be exciting to see him make his first NFL start on Sunday.
First Start Vibes
Hey Nate, during the game the commentators blamed the two false start penalties on Justin. I noticed you mentioned twice the center Mustipher is refusing to snap the ball? Is this a timing issue on the center? Is he setting the protection, is Justin, or are they sharing the responsibility here?