ESPN: Bears QB has been on FINED for …

CHICAGO — The iconic play of the Justin Fields era made all the highlight shows. It was slowed down, replayed from alternate angles, with specific frames frozen on social media platforms to be admired by NFL fans the world over.

With four seconds on the clock and the Chicago Bears trailing the Cleveland Browns 20-17, Fields took the snap from his own 46-yard line, bounced around the pocket, rolled to his left and waited until the last possible instant to launch the ball toward the end zone. Amid a scrum of players, Browns safety Ronnie Hickman jumped and unleashed his best volleyball spike, sending the football tumbling toward the turf.

But instead of finding the Kentucky Bluegrass-irrigated field of Cleveland Browns Stadium as Hickman intended, the ball hit the gloved hands, then the chest, of Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney as he fell to the ground. A touchdown for the ages to lift Chicago to its third consecutive win and keep Fields & Co. in the NFC playoff chase.

Except Mooney never really controlled the ball. He bobbled it, then kicked it into the air as he fell backward, whereupon Browns safety D’Anthony Bell corralled it to end the game. Fields and the Bears had been so close. It said everything.

“I know the guys up front wish they would have had a few plays back, receivers wish they would have had a few plays back,” Fields said afterward. “We’ve just got to be better. I’ve got to be better.”

Three seasons and 37 starts into his NFL career, Fields’ version of the Bears has at times appeared tantalizingly close to a breakthrough. The No. 11 pick in the 2021 draft has displayed physical gifts, command of an offense and clear leadership qualities — but on a sporadic basis. He has endured head coach and coordinator changes amid a roster teardown and an attempted rebuild, while working alongside an offensive supporting cast that has done him few favors.

The Bears have made strides with Fields at quarterback, but as the 2023 season draws to a close Sunday against the Green Bay Packers, Chicago’s brain trust must determine whether the 24-year-old still represents the future, and the decision is complicated.

Two of the men positioned to make the call on Fields, second-year general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus, are not guaranteed to be back in 2024. Poles, who has worked well with his boss, first-year team president Kevin Warren, per sources, appears poised to return. Eberflus’ future is a little more uncertain after a second straight losing season, though the Bears’ 7-5 record over the past 12 games bolsters his case. The presence of the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, acquired by the Bears in a March trade with the Carolina Panthers, looms over all the key figures.

While Fields has good relationships with Poles, Eberflus and all of Chicago’s decision-makers, the top pick offers the possibility that USC quarterback Caleb Williams, North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye or someone else could be a better long-term answer for a franchise that has not known true quarterback stability since Sid Luckman helped revolutionize the passing game in the 1940s. But Chicago’s embattled leaders, should Poles and Eberflus return, also need to win in 2024. Are they prepared to hitch their wagon to a rookie, even a supremely talented one?

The choice between Fields and the unknown could shape the organization for the next decade or more.

IN THE VICTORIOUS visitors locker room at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Nov. 27, Eberflus wrapped his quarterback in an embrace. Moments later, Poles followed suit, with the general manager and former Boston College offensive lineman lifting the 230-pound Fields off the ground in celebration.

Fields had made the critical play in the final minute against the Vikings, a 36-yard completion to wide receiver DJ Moore on third-and-10 to set up a game-winning field goal in a 12-10 victory on “Monday Night Football.”

The quarterback’s play up until that point had not been sensational — Chicago did not score a touchdown in the game and Fields lost two fumbles in the fourth quarter. But it was the winning-time moment that provided a sense of vindication for Eberflus and Poles, who have not publicly wavered in their support of Fields despite his 8-19 record as a starter over the past two seasons. The Bears’ locker room has appeared unified behind Fields, too.

Said Moore, the closest thing to a No. 1 receiver Fields has had during his three seasons in Chicago: “He came back like a true leader does — somebody on the rise as a young quarterback. They just block that out and make that throw.”

Since returning Nov. 19 from a four-game absence with a thumb injury, Fields’ interception and sack numbers are down. Coaches have lauded his improved pocket presence, including his movement, footwork and willingness to throw the ball downfield instead of taking off and running when the pocket breaks down. Perhaps what has stood out most in that stretch has been Fields’ ability to close out wins. Fields played well in divisional victories over Minnesota and Detroit, and was also consistent in wins over Arizona and Atlanta that continued the Bears’ late-season momentum.