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Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears are currently 2-1 and tied atop the NFC North.
Their most recent win came against Davis Mills and the Houston Texans.
But even while Fields and the Bears have been winning, their struggles have been clear. At times it has looked nearly impossible to move the ball, and the offense has struggled in a big way.
At the core of the Bears offensive struggles lies Justin Fields. The second-year quarterback is meant to be the face of the franchise, and per usual, the blame falls onto the shoulders of the QB1.
But both the coaching staff, and the rest of the Bears offense know that they haven't put Fields in the best chance to succeed. Between problems with the offensive line, a lack of skill players, and just an overall poorly run offense, Fields hasn't been given the best chance to succeed. But according to head coach Matt Eberflus, this should soon change and a new plan will be put into place.
During a conversation with reporters on Monday, Eberflus spoke about the state of his offense. And he believes that they must return to the basics to find success.
According to NBC Sports Chicago Bears insider Josh Schrock, Eberflus spoke in depth regarding what they need to see from Fields. He emphasized his footwork, and ability to move with the offense.
Eberflus stated, “I would just say keep on working on his footwork. The footwork and then the timing, the timing of it when they get the ball out of his hands. A lot of that is the pocket, too, at times, when we were looking at the film. So we got to make sure we have a clean pocket for him to ride the pocket up and then deliver the ball.”
Eberflus also noted that the pocket needs to be clean. This in turn means that the offensive line must be better.
Following his assessment of Fields' footwork, Eberflus was asked if Fields is regressing. He was quick to defend his young quarterback, saying, “He's getting better at that. He's getting better at that. And again, that breaks down sometimes when the protection breaks down, which in every game, the protection does break down on both sides. So, that was some of it.”
At times, Fields has looked uncomfortable in the Bears offense. Several of his interceptions could be attributed to urgency from him that wasn't necessary.
Eberflus emphasized getting Fields into a rhythm and settling him into the offense in the future. He stated, “We're always looking to make him comfortable and get some things going for him to make him feel like he's comfortable in that game plan and have early success. You're always trying to search for that for sure and we're going to search for that this week, too.”
Through the first three weeks, the Bears offense has been arguably the most lackluster in the NFL. Fields has thrown just 297 yards, and the teams leading receiver, Equanimeous St. Brown has just 77 receiving yards.
Even with the team winning games, the struggle is abundantly clear. And Fields will continue to struggle until they can surround him with players who can protect him. But at the moment, this doesn't seem to be happening. And this could lead to more of the same for Fields and this Bears offense.
