Through the first six weeks of the 2022 NFL season, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields completed 63 of 115 attempts (54.8%) for 869 yards (7.6 yards per attempt), four touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 72.7 — the third-worst in the NFL behind only Kenny Pickett of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Baker Mayfield of the Carolina Panthers.
From that, you would not be incorrect in assuming that Fields was prone to the same issues that led to his underwhelming 2021 rookie season, in which he completed 159 of 270 passes (58.9%) for 1,870 yards (6.9 YPA), seven touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a passer rating of 73.2, the fifth-worst in the NFL.
Then, after a 17-7 loss to the Washington Commanders on Thursday, October 13, the Bears had a mini=bye in which to figure things out between Fields, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and the entire staff. Whatever happened in the rooms at Halas Hall in that time between October 14 and Chicago’s next game on Monday, October 24 against the New England Patriots, a light went on for Fields, and it’s stayed on ever since.
In the three games since the mini-bye, Fields has carved up the Patriots, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Miami Dolphins for 47 completions on 72 attempts (65.3%), 453 yards (6.5 YPA), six touchdowns, one interception, and a passer rating of 104.7, which is the ninth-best in the NFL.
Moreover, Fields has been a three-week revelation as a runner. He gained 281 yards and scored one touchdown on 21 carries in the first six weeks of the season, and then, in the last three weeks, he’s put up 320 yards and scored three touchdowns on 24 carries. This included Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins, in which Fields set the NFL’s regular-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback in a single game with 178 yards on 15 carries. Fields also completed 17 of 28 passes for 123 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 106.7.
This is not an example of a quarterback beating up on bad defenses. The Patriots and Cowboys have two of the NFL’s best, and though the Dolphins have underperformed to their talent this season, there’s enough there to complicate things for anybody.
After the Dolphins game, which still went 35-32 against Chicago, Miami head coach Mike McDaniel talked about how much his defense was allegedly prepared for Fields as a runner — to no avail, as it turned out.
“That was a big point of emphasis going into the game, just knowing how he’s really helped really change that offense’s complexion the last couple weeks,” McDaniel said. “So, you do your best. There was a couple missed tackles live that I saw that you’d love to have. But ultimately, you just have to continue to stress rush lanes, and we’ve got to improve on our plan that we were trying to execute, that type of – you run into those type of players once in a while in the National Football League, and you’ve got to be able to take away what they’re doing really well. We were able to do that for probably the first three quarters, but I’m just happy that we did in the fourth.”
As McDaniel intimated, it’s the entire picture of Fields’ abilities that have changed Chicago’s offense radically for the better. Let’s get into a deep dive about how that’s happened.