Following last week’s preseason opener, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields was asked about adjusting to the speed of the NFL game.
“It was actually kind of slow to me,” he said, explaining that’s because he’s used to practicing against the Bears’ starting defense.
Fields’ remarks — specifically the “it was actually kind of slow to me” — was a hot topic of discussion throughout the week, where he was the subject of criticism and warned that the game will indeed speed up.
So, following Chicago’s 41-15 preseason loss to Buffalo, Fields took a moment to clarify his comments, specifically how practicing against the Bears’ first-team defense helps slow things down.
“Let me tidy that up because that came out totally wrong…Apparently the narrative was that, I’m just that good that the game is too slow. What I meant to say was, I go up against our first-team defense a lot throughout the week, so me going against them and playing these preseason games when starters aren’t in, that’s going to slow the game down for me. Again, I wanted to clear that up because I don’t want to come off as cocky or act like I already made it because I know I’ve got a lot of work to do and get better at.”
Fields had his “welcome to the NFL” moment in Saturday’s game, when he took a brutal hit to the helmet from Bills linebacker Andre Smith — which was flagged as roughing the passer — which knocked Fields’ helmet off.
That's a nasty hit on Justin Fields.https://t.co/ovnrCRzTNT
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 21, 2021
Fields merely shook it off and continued playing.
“It didn’t really hurt, to be honest with you,” he told reporters after the game. “I think the one thing that hurt was my helmet coming off and hitting me in the eye. But the actual hit, it wasn’t that crazy.”
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