From first glance, this game looked like another typical Chicago Bears outing, where the offense wasn’t able to get anything going and the defense was doing everything they could to keep things close.
But the game quickly morphed into one of Chicago’s most competitive contests of the season as the Bears lost a heartbreaker 29-27 to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football.
The most frustrating aspect of Monday’s loss was the fact that the Bears should’ve won. And they would’ve won, if not for the poor officiating that was called out by Bears fans, announcers and NFL observers alike.
There were countless missed calls and questionable calls, including a questionable call on James Daniels for a low block that erased a Justin Fields to Jimmy Graham touchdown. Instead, Chicago had to settle for a field goal and were robbed of four points.
There are simply too many questionable calls to point out, but there were two others that were egregious — a missed roughing-the-passer call on Fields after a play and Cassius Marsh getting flagged for taunting when there was none.
Sure, the Bears did enough to beat themselves. But what the refs did was inexcusable. There needs to be accountability for these referees or games like this are going to continue to happen.
But when all is said and done, it won’t be the loss or the officiating that everyone remembers. It’ll be Fields’ performance that Bears fans remember as the moment they knew Chicago finally found its franchise quarterback.
Fields had his coming-out party on Monday night in front of the entire football world, and it was everything Bears fans have been waiting their entire lives for — a franchise quarterback.
Fields completed 17-of-29 passes for a career-high 292 yards with one touchdown and one interception, as well as added 45 yards on the ground. But the stats don’t tell the story. Not even close.
On the biggest stage of his young career, Fields rose to the challenge. Trailing 26-20 in the fourth quarter, Fields marched his team 75 yards in seven plays that ended in a 16-yard touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney.
According to ESPN Stats and Info, Fields averaged 15.6 air yards per attempt, including seven completions on passes of 15-plus yards, which tied for the most by a Bears quarterback in the past 15 seasons.
The Bears have lost four straight games, but the most encouraging thing has been that Fields is getting better each and every week. No one expected them to be contenders this year, and the most important thing now is Fields’ development. That, and building the franchise around your quarterback of the future.