Dietz: Bears need to stick with Fields

Tyson Bagent should start the Bears' final eight games of the season. Don't blindly go back to Justin Fields.

Those were my words a month ago after Bagent showed an immense amount of promise after 3½ games under center.

OK, I can admit it: I was wrong.

While Bagent has the skills to be a bona fide backup, Fields seems to be slowly growing into a well-rounded quarterback.

Let's be clear: Fields is far from perfect. Some bad habits from his first couple of years in the league rear their ugly head at the worst times.

Yet, he appears more comfortable in the pocket since returning from injury and is still capable of turning a busted play into something special. A good example during Sunday's 28-13 victory over the Lions came early in the first quarter when the Bears faced third-and-8 from their own 11-yard line.

Fields dropped back, found nobody open and looked to be dead meat as the Lions closed in. Instead, he escaped and scampered 19 yards for a first down.

It's a play few talked about afterward, but it led to a 10-play, 63-yard drive that ended in a 46-yard field goal by Cairo Santos. If Fields goes down, who knows what happens next?

So, it's time to say it: The Bears should hitch their wagon to Fields for at least the next two years. Exercise his fifth-year option for the 2025 season and allow him to keep growing.

Right now, Fields is not a $50 million-a-year QB in the mold of the Bengals' Joe Burrow or the Eagles' Jalen Hurts. Down the road, perhaps Fields would agree to something like a four-year, $160 million deal that also gives the Bears an easy out after Year 2. It would be similar to what the Giants recently did with Daniel Jones.

Give Fields another huge weapon by drafting WR Marvin Harrison Jr. in April, continue to upgrade the defense with another edge rusher, fortify the offensive line and this could be one dangerous team.

Staff infection?

So after two-thirds of a season in which I've endlessly ripped the Bears, it feels like I'm flip-flopping doesn't it? Well, give credit where credit is due: They are 5-4 since Week 4 and trending in the right direction on multiple fronts.

My opinion on the coaching staff, however, has not changed.

Matt Eberflus isn't the man to lead this team to the promised land, and Luke Getsy - while he calls brilliant drives early in games - often gets too cute when he should be conservative and too conservative when he should be aggressive. Some play designs are just plain awful as well.

Eberflus has done a solid job as defensive coordinator since Alan Williams' departure. Perhaps the answer is to move Eberflus into that role while replacing him with a sharp, offensive-minded head coach.

Now, would he go for that? Difficult to say, but it's an avenue worth considering.

That's more like it:

After Green Bay blasted the Bears 38-20 in the season opener, I was appalled at the blasé postgame reaction.

No big deal. It's just Week 1. We have 16 games left.

Well, apparently I should have sought out safety Jaquan Brisker because this young man gets it. After he piled up an almost-unheard of 17 tackles Sunday, Brisker still wasn't satisfied.

"We feel like we've got to score on defense," Brisker said. "That's going to make us elite. Once we do that and cause more fumbles and things like that, we'll be good."

Brisker was also asked if this was a statement win. His answer was perfect.

"It's a great divisional win, but we ain't do nothing yet," he said. "Defense has to get better. We're 5-8 right now. We've got to find a way to keep stacking 'em - one game at a time, one day at a time."

Sweating equity:

Montez Sweat notched a sack in his third straight game Sunday, giving him 10 on the season and making him one of 13 players with double digits. It is a career high for the fifth-year pro, and there are four games remaining to increase that total.

"Man, that was a goal that I've had ever since I got in the league," Sweat said of hitting double digits. "So it's definitely a good day for me. I thank God for that."

Up next:

The Bears travel to Cleveland (8-5) on Sunday to face the unpredictable Browns, who own impressive victories over San Francisco and Baltimore. Joe Flacco, now 38 years old, just threw for 311 yards in a 31-27 victory over Jacksonville, but he struggled the week before in a 36-19 loss to the Rams.

This game may be won in the trenches, however, as the Bears must deal with a Cleveland defense that allows the fewest yards in the league and has the second-highest sack percentage (9.2) and fourth-highest INT percentage (3.2).

Establishing the run will be key so DE Myles Garrett (13 sacks) can't go full-bore after Justin Fields very often.