There has been plenty of drama surrounding the Chicago Bears' quarterback battle after they traded up to get Justin Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft. The noise is only going to get louder after the Bears' ugly 34-14 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night.
Dalton was … fine in the loss, completing 27 out of 38 passes for 206 yards. His one interception in the end zone was totally putrid, but outside of that, he played the role of game manager okay.
Of course, Bears fans don't want to see a game manager when Fields is on the bench. It gets even more maddening when you look at these charts showing the performance of Dalton and star wide receiver Allen Robinson:
38 pass attempts
0 longer than 16 yards in the air
The one that traveled 16? Intercepted pic.twitter.com/zPJzBs3LE4— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) September 13, 2021
please don't do this to allen robinson again @god pic.twitter.com/cMY7y7PNpa
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 13, 2021
Now, this isn't all on Andy Dalton. Bears head coach Matt Nagy has to take some of the blame for this nonsense. Given the offensive line concerns and the opponent, it was understandable to want to run a lot of quick passes against a defense that was more than happy to give them up. But to not take a single shot down the field in an NFL game in 2021 is malpractice, as was the usage of a star wide receiver like Robinson.
The Bears did have a few nice drives that ate up clock, but it didn't matter when the Rams would get the ball and immediately pull off explosive plays to score with ease. It showed the major difference in game plan and talent level, especially at the quarterback position.
Fields did see the field for a few plays and even scored a rushing touchdown, but he only threw two passes for 10 yards.
If Chicago is going to stick with Dalton, Nagy has to open up the playbook a bit more. And if he does do that and Dalton still doesn't throw downfield, the decision to go to Fields should become even easier.
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