Every highlight show featured the play that defined the Justin Fields era. It was slowed down, repeated from different perspectives, and some frames were frozen on social media so that NFL fans everywhere could admire it.
Fields received the snap from his own 46-yard line with four seconds remaining, and with the Chicago Bears trailing the Cleveland Browns 20-17. He bounced around the pocket, rolled to his left, and waited for the very last second to throw the ball toward the end zone. The football was sliding toward the turf when Browns safety Ronnie Hickman sprang and fired his best volleyball spike among a flurry of players.
However, Hickman did not plan for the ball to land on the Kentucky Bluegrass-irrigated field of Cleveland Browns Stadium; instead, it struck Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney’s gloved hands and then his chest as he hit the ground. A game-winning touchdown to help Chicago win its third straight and maintain Fields & Co.’s NFC playoff hopes.
Mooney, though, never quite had possession over the ball. The game was ended after Browns safety D’Anthony Bell corralled the ball after he bobbled it and kicked it into the air as he slumped backward. The Bears and Fields had been so close. Everything was said in it.
“I know the guys up front wish they would have had a few plays back, receivers wish they would have had a few plays back,” Fields remarked afterwards. All we need to do is improve. I have to improve.”
After three seasons and 37 starts in the NFL, Fields’ Bears have occasionally looked dangerously close to making a breakthrough. Though inconsistently, the No. 11 pick in the 2021 draft has shown physical prowess, offensive command, and evident leadership abilities. Along with a squad dismantling and attempted reconstruction, he has experienced changes in head coach and coordinator while dealing with an offensive supporting cast that has not been kind to him.
The Bears have improved since Fields took over at quarterback. However, as the 2023 season comes to an end on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, Chicago’s leadership team must decide if the 24-year-old still holds promise for the future.
It’s not a given that coach Matt Eberflus and second-year general manager Ryan Poles, who were in a position to decide on Fields, would still be there in 2024. According to reports, Poles has gotten along well with his employer, first-year team president Kevin Warren, and he seems ready to make a comeback. After a second straight losing season, Eberflus’ future is a little less clear, but the Bears’ 7-5 record over the previous 12 games helps his cause. All the important players are overshadowed by the Bears’ acquisition of the No. 1 choice in the 2024 draft via a trade with the Carolina Panthers in March.
Fields enjoys good rapport with Poles, Eberflus, and all Chicago executives; however, the number one pick raises the possibility that a quarterback from USC, North Carolina, or another school—Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, for example—might be a better long-term fit for a franchise that hasn’t had a true quarterback since Sid Luckman helped transform the passing game in the 1940s. However, in the event that Poles and Eberflus return, Chicago’s beleaguered leaders must also prevail in 2024. Are they willing to support a novice, even one who is exceptionally gifted?
The decision to choose Fields over the unknown could have a lasting impact on the organization for up to ten years.