Fields, offense take big step back in Bears' 12-7 loss to Commanders
"Tons of progress."
That's what offensive coordinator Luke Gesty saw from Justin Fields during the Bears' 29-22 loss to the Vikings last Sunday.
The hope was that Fields could build upon that decent performance Thursday at Soldier Field against Washington.
But that's not what happened most of the night - and especially during a first half in which we saw plenty of regression during a 12-7 loss to the Commanders.
Give Fields plenty of credit for taking an absolute beating from a physical, talented Washington defense.
But in terms of growth as a quarterback? It was tough to find much, unless you were coach Matt Eberflus, who actually had the temerity to suggest progress was made.
"I think he took a step forward," Eberflus said. "For me, the ability to take the ball and drive it down at the very end to give us a chance to win it - that's to me what was the improvement."
Most of us saw it much differently.
Twice in the first half the Bears drove inside Washington's 5-yard line only to come away empty-handed. Both drives failed because of Fields.
The next drive should have continued as well, but Fields heaved a deep ball to Darnell Mooney on third-and-3 instead of hitting a wide open Dante Pettis on a crossing route.
At a minimum, the Bears (2-4) should have been leading 9-3 at halftime, and it probably should have been 13-3 or even 17-3.
That likely would have buried Washington, especially with how the defense was playing.
Instead, coach Ron Rivera's squad led 3-0 at the half and prevailed thanks to yet another muffed punt by rookie wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. This one came inside the 10-yard line and was recovered by Washington (2-4) at the 6 with 8:06 remaining.
Brian Robinson scored on a 1-yard run two plays later to make it 12-7.
The Bears nearly pulled out a miraculous victory after Fields ran 39 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the 5 with 52 seconds remaining.
On fourth-and-goal from the 4, Mooney caught a ball near the pylon and was brought down inches shy of the goal line. If Mooney would have maintained control the entire time it would have been a touchdown, but cornerback Benjamin St.-Juste managed to push Mooney back as he was bobbling the ball.
"Just catch the damn ball the first time and we win the game," Mooney said.
What's especially maddening with Fields is watching him make some impressive throws for big gains, then seeing everything go for naught because of poor decisions and/or inaccuracy.
Take the Bears' second drive when Fields hit Cole Kmet for 15 yards and Pettis for 19 more.
Good stuff.
But then on second-and-goal from the 5, Fields threw a line-drive bullet into the line. The ball popped skyward and was snared by defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
On the next possession, Khalil Herbert bolted 64 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the 6. Two plays later, Fields had tight end Ryan Griffin all alone in the end zone, but he put too much on the ball it fell incomplete.
"He's wide open," Fields said. "I've got to hit that. I'm an NFL quarterback. I've got to hit that. ... We had plenty of opportunities in the game. We just didn't finish them. We've got to be better."
Fields nearly scored on the next play, but was stopped just short of the goal line. Herbert was then stuffed on fourth-and-inches, ending the drive.
Rarely in pro sports does progress go straight up. Many up-and-comers struggle at first to adjust to the speed at this level. That's especially true for quarterbacks.
The concerns with Fields, however, remain twofold: his decision making on key third downs and flat-out inaccuracy.
Fields, who did throw a gorgeous 40-yard TD pass to Pettis that gave the Bears a 7-3 lead in the third quarter, finished 14-for-27 for 190 yards. He also ran 12 times for 88 yards.
David Montgomery ran 15 times for 67 yards, while Herbert finished with 75 yards on 7 carries.
Pettis (4 catches, 84 yards) and Mooney (7-68) caught 11 of Fields' 14 completions.
This was a tough one to swallow for everyone inside the locker room. The defense held Washington to 14 first downs, 214 total yards and got off the field on 9 of 11 third downs.
Most days that's enough. Just not this one.
"Nobody's happy about this loss," Fields said. "We always get told that we're almost there, we're almost there. Me personally, I'm tired of being almost there. I'm tired of being just this close.
"Feel like I've been hearing it for so long now. At the end of the day all you can do is get back to work. ... Live and learn and get back next weekend."