The Chicago Bears are gearing up to face the Cleveland Browns, where rookie quarterback Justin Fields will be making his first NFL start with Andy Dalton sidelined with a knee injury.
There’s going to be a noticeable difference between Dalton and Fields under center. With Fields, his mobility adds another element to his game, where he has the ability to make something out of nothing. For tight end Cole Kmet, he’s preparing for some backyard football with Fields at quarterback.
“With Justin, there’s the play that’s called and then there’s the second play that turns into kind of some backyard football,” Kmet said. “You know I’m going to be getting some sprints in after practice.”
Cole Kmet: "With Justin (Fields), there's the play that's called and then there's the second play that turns into kind of some backyard football. You know I'm going to be getting some sprints in after practice."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) September 22, 2021
Fields saw his first extended action against the Bengals in relief of an injured Dalton, where he had his share of rookie mistakes, including miscommunication with the offensive line, timing issues with receivers and issues protecting the football.
But there are going to be growing pains with Fields, which is to be expected with a rookie quarterback. Though there were some bright spots in his extended debut, including some beautiful deep balls, some of which were dropped by receivers.
Still, Fields brings something to the offense that Dalton doesn’t: his ability to use his athleticism to make something happen out of nothing. And we could certainly be in for plenty of that Sunday against the Browns.
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