Tag: Chicago Bears vs. Cleveland Browns

Jason Peters explains what makes Justin Fields so special in the huddle

Bears players are feeding off Justin Fields’ confidence.

Barring some miraculous recovery by Andy Dalton, rookie quarterback Justin Fields will make his first NFL start on Sunday when the Bears travel to Cleveland to face the Browns.

Dalton suffered a bone bruise on his knee, and he’s considered week-to-week with the injury, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. So while Matt Nagy has tried to play the gamesmanship card as long as he could, the secret’s out.

Fields saw his first significant game action last Sunday against the Bengals, when he relieved Dalton near the end of the first half. Fields’ performance was shaky — featuring your typical rookie mistakes and some miscommunication with starters — but there should be improvement with Fields preparing as the starting QB.

Left tackle Jason Peters, who will be tasked with protecting the rookie’s blind side, explained what makes Fields so special in the huddle.

“He’s very confident,” Peters said, “so when he calls a play you just want to make sure you do your job because you definitely believe in the kid that he’s going to make a play for you. And most of the time he does.”

There certainly appeared to be a spark of energy when Fields entered the game on offense, which carried over to the defense, who nabbed four takeaways on consecutive drives in the second half.

While there are certainly going to be growing pains with Fields, as we’ve already seen with other rookies, it’s all part of the developmental process. It’ll be interesting to see what Nagy’s offense looks like when catered to Fields’ strengths, assuming it is.

Fields appears to have already garnered trust and respect from his teammates, which will go a long way for the rookie.

“He’s a tremendous player,” said defensive end Bilal Nichols. “He has a lot of upside. He’s definitely going to be a dude in this league. I’m excited for him. I feel like with him, we’ll be in good hands.”

Added receiver Darnell Mooney: “Everybody trusts him.”

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Bears rookie Justin Fields in line to make first NFL start vs. Browns

With Andy Dalton week-to-week with a bone bruise on his knee, rookie Justin Fields is gearing up for his first NFL start Sunday vs. Browns.

It sounds like the Justin Fields era is set to begin Sunday as the Chicago Bears rookie quarterback is in line to make his first career NFL start on the road against the Cleveland Browns.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Andy Dalton is considered week-to-week with a bone bruise on his knee. While the Bears haven’t made a final decision about whether or not Dalton will start, it’s hard to believe Dalton will go from week-to-week to ready to play by Sunday.

That puts Fields in line to make his first start on the road against the Browns in Week 3.

While it won’t be Fields’ first action in the regular season — as he took over for an injured Dalton against the Bengals — it’ll mark the first week that Fields gets work as the starter.

On Monday, Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced — via a PR representative — that Dalton would be the starter if healthy. But with Fields preparing for his first start, the goal is going to be to make him as comfortable as possible, where a game plan catered to his skillset and first-team reps in practice should help.

“We’ve just got to make sure that whatever we put in there, that he knows inside out he can play fast,” Nagy said. “So if there’s more plays that he knows or likes, we’ll get that in there, and he’ll play quarterback the way it’s supposed to be played.

“But we do have to be a little bit careful, and I think probably the biggest thing for us is making sure that he really understands and knows the plays, if [he starts]. . . . The last thing we want is him playing slow, then having to react to the defense.”

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Bears open as 7.5-point road underdogs vs. Browns in Week 3

The Bears will look to make it two in a row against the AFC North when they face the Browns, where Chicago are early underdogs in Week 3.

The Chicago Bears will face their second straight AFC North team when they head to Cleveland to face the Browns in Week 3. Chicago will be looking for their second win against an AFC North opponent this season against a very good Cleveland team.

The Bears are coming off a narrow 20-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, where Chicago’s defense dominated with four takeaways in a game that shouldn’t have been that close.

With Andy Dalton suffering a bone bruise in his knee, it looks like rookie Justin Fields will make his first career start against Cleveland on Sunday.

The Bears have opened as 7.5-point road underdogs against the Browns, according to Tipico Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 46.5 points.

Last season, the Bears were favored in just three of 16 games against the New York Giants, Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars. Chicago were also favorites in Week 2 against the Bengals this season.

Can the Bears make it 10-0 against the AFC North with a win over the Browns? Or will Cleveland pull out the win? We’ll see when the Bears and Browns kick things off Sunday at Noon CT on FOX.

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