The cruel things the Chicago Bears did to Justin Fields

The cruel things the Chicago Bears did to Justin Fields.

The Chicago Bears are supposedly not using Justin Fields to his full potential, and two former NFL players are not happy about it.

The victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night only strengthened that criticism.

The conversation around Justin Fields’ future got no clearer despite Monday night’s win over the Minnesota Vikings in primetime.

Though Fields finally put together a long-awaited game-winning drive – something he hasn’t done since Week 3 of the 2022 season – with a strong throw to D.J. Moore to set up Cairo Santos’ clinching field goal, the third-year quarterback’s two grisly fourth-quarter fumbles cast a heavy pall over an otherwise solid performance.

(Still, credit to Fields for making up for his mistakes with the kind of clutch play that’s been missing from his arsenal of late.)

Of course, said performance might’ve felt more impressive if offensive coordinator Luke Getsy didn’t call plays like someone who didn’t trust his quarterback, calling a game that led Fields to his lowest air yards per attempt of his NFL career.

Though calling a certain number of screens made sense against Minnesota’s repeated all-out blitz looks (as I wrote before the game), I didn’t mean screens on half of Fields’ pass attempts.

If you think the Chicago Bears simply didn’t care about building an offense around Fields, you’re not alone. In fact, you’re in some star-studded company.

In an interview with Laurence Holmes on NBC Sports Chicago, former MVP quarterback Cam Newton and former Bears receiver Brandon Marshall suggested Chicago isn’t building a system that helps Fields be the best version of himself.

“This kid has it,” Marshall said of Fields on Football Night in Chicago. “He can do everything. Magical. Hopefully they figure it out because he is special. I love Justin Fields.”

“When are we going to start holding coaches accountable for them potentially being the issue?” Newton added.

“It’s so hard for players to hold franchise people accountable for certain things.

It’s okay for a player to say, ‘Coach, this is a little too complex for me.’

When you go public and you speak your mind, that’s when you’re labeled something that you’re not… he is good enough to be a dynamic player in this league.”

Naturally, Fields’ previous remarks from prior to the Kansas City Chiefs game in Week 3 about how “coaching” throws off his playing rhythm and makes him look “robotic” are what Newton is alluding to here.

Later that day, Fields walked those remarks back at his locker.