Bears Analyst Thinks Justin Fields Was Set Up to Fail in Chicago

Justin Fields didn’t have much success in Chicago, posting a 11-29 record in three seasons, but he had no stability on the coaching front and barely any weapons to work with.

Fields had two head coaches and three different offensive coordinators in his three years in the Windy City. That’s an incredibly tough environment for a young quarterback to develop and grow in.

Historically, the Bears have never got it right at quarterback. Jay Cutler is their all-time passing leader with 23,443 yards. That tells you everything you need to know.

The Bears had the opportunity to select Patrick Mahomes in 2017, but they picked Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 overall … The Franchise is just cursed when it comes to quarterbacks, and Caleb Williams of USC might be the next victim.

Jason Goff of NBC Sports Chicago thinks Fields wasn’t perfect in the situation, but he was dealt an extremely bad hand.

“He was part of the problem. I think Justin Fields got caught up in the worst wasteland you can have to develop a quarterback,” Goff said on Bomani Jones’ podcast The Right Time with Bomani Jones. “Matt Nagy’s on his way out, he wants to play Andy Dalton. He throws him in his first game and says, ‘Here play football.’ And then he gets sacked nine times by Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney and that Cleveland Browns defense. That’s his introduction to it.

“Second year, (general manager) Ryan Poles comes in, ‘Hey, I got to tear this down, I want to build a different way.’ The youngest roster by far in the league. He’s throwing to special teamers. But also, he’s doing things that I didn’t expect him to do, like take off and run as often as he did. Is it all on Justin Fields? A sizeable portion of it is. But, I’m not one of these people that think that this wasn’t one of the worst situations you could drop quarterback in.”

Fields took a small step forward in 2023, his third year as Chicago’s starting quarterback. The Ohio State alum threw 370 times, completing 227 for 2,562 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw nine interceptions and maintained an 86.3 passer rating and a 5.29 adjusted net yards per attempt.

In 2022, he was 192 of 318 for 2,242 yards, 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, an 85.2 quarterback rating and 4.63 adjusted net yards per attempt.

Since 2022, Fields has the most rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,800 yards and 6.3 yards per carry. Both figures are higher than Lamar Jackson’s.