Eberflus pleased with Fields' continued growth

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus met with reporters Monday at Halas Hall a day after his team beat the Detroit Lions in commanding fashion.

Sunday marked the first time the Bears won consecutive games during Eberflus' two-year tenure and was Eberflus' second NFC North win in as many weeks.

The Bears will turn their attention to making it three straight for the first time since December 2020 when they travel to play the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Here are three interesting things Eberflus said Monday.

On Justin Fields' continued growth

Eberflus thought Fields showed off his development as a quarterback against the Lions with his ability to look downfield for open targets and knowing when to run when nothing was there.

"We're excited about where he is with that," Eberflus said. "In terms of the first phase of looking down the field to complete passes and then the second phase where it's not there in situational ball to be able to make it happen."

Fields showed off his ability to do both and continued his success running against the Lions. He threw for 223 yards and one touchdown while also leading the team with 58 rushing yards, including an 11-yard touchdown scramble in the fourth quarter to give his team a 25-13 lead.

Fields has rushed for 221 yards in his last three games back from a thumb injury, 162 coming against the Lions.

While some of the plays called for Fields were designed runs, many of the big-yardage plays came thanks to his ability to get out of tight situations where it appeared a defender had him trapped - a benefit of Fields' speed along with his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame.

"He's so strong, he's got strong lowers and he's got great contact balance as we say with DJ (Moore), he has that as well," Eberflus said. "He's got the ability to put it on guys for 19 yards or as you saw last year, even more than that."

Fields' dual-threat does force Eberflus to protect his quarterback when opponents hit him when he slides. While Eberflus thought there were worse hits in the first game against the Lions than Sunday, it's something Eberflus always petitions to officials and the NFL.

"It's just not the right thing to do," Eberflus said of the hits on quarterbacks. "We've just gotta make sure we take care of our quarterbacks."

On the Montez Sweat effect

Sunday was another game where Sweat showed off the impact he's had on the Bears' defense since coming over in a trade from the Washington Commanders.

Eberflus sang Sweat's praises again for not only his own performance but also how he's affected the rest of the defense.

"He definitely helps others," Eberflus said. "It's been an uptick in a lot of ways from the turnovers, it enabled us to play more coverage and not pressure as much on those situational downs and get home with four. That's been a big part of it."

Sweat finished Sunday with five tackles, four quarterback hits and one sack, playing 74% of the defensive snaps. The Bears' defense allowed 27.3 points and 341 total yards per game in the eight games before acquiring Sweat. In the five games since, opponents have averaged 18.2 points and 272.2 total yards.

But Eberflus said those statistics don't tell Sweat's full impact. Besides being a great teammate with a great attitude, Sweat garners the attention of opponents who chip block him more on his way to the quarterback, allowing his fellow pass rushers to be single-blocked.

Eberflus knew the potential the Bears were getting when they traded for Sweat.

"When you get a standard and you bring a guy in that has that talent and he plays to that standard, there's going to be more production," Eberflus said. "There's going to be more intensity. It's going to spread throughout the whole group. That's what we are starting to see."

On the Bears' building confidence

Eberflus has noticed the Bears' recent wins turn into confidence and spread around Halas Hall.

"The guys are upbeat and they've always been that way," Eberflus said. "But you can certainly feel the confidence growing as we start stacking these wins."

There's certainly reasons to be confident with the Bears playing their best football under Eberflus. The Bears have won three of their last four games, four of their last seven and are 2-3 in the NFC North. Instead of Bears fans looking at draft positioning, some Bears players are talking about winning out and making the playoffs.

With four games left and some questions to answer about both the coaching staff and Fields' future, the Bears are riding the momentum.

"You can just feel confidence," Eberflus said. "The guys have always been confident in their approach and confident in their abilities. But you can see the feeling of confidence when you actually see it, the progress."