4 things to watch for when the Chicago Bears host the Houston Texans
By Todd Welter
Justin Fields needs to have a good game.
Fields was no threat to the Packers defense. He completed seven of 11 passes for just 70 yards. He threw an interception and was sacked three times. He held onto the ball way too long and missed some open receivers.
The fan base and analysts reviews ranged from the Bears having another bust on their hands at quarterback to the coaching staff just does not trust him.
What’s most frustrating to me is that through 2 games, it seems like the #Bears simply don’t trust Justin Fields to throw the ball.
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) September 19, 2022
The rain is one thing but this week, he has 9 pass attempts through 55 minutes of a regular season football game. Why?
Fields can quiet the critics with a good performance on Sunday. It would be great if he went out and threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns. It would just be nice to see Fields be accurate, throw for over 200 yards, and not turn the ball over.
There does seem to be an issue when Fields has only attempted 28 passes in the first two games. Now the first game was played in monsoon-like conditions so that does play a factor in why the Bears have not gone to the air a lot. The offensive line does seem better at run blocking than pass blocking.
Fields did miss some wide-open receivers but he also had some pressure because the line could not protect. Also, against the 49ers even with the lousy conditions, the wide receivers struggled to get open.
Fields can take a step forward by at least eliminating his biggest weakness, which is holding onto the ball too long.
The Bears passing attack is off to a rocky start through two weeks. A look into why that is with stats that address pass protection/Justin Fields' time to throw, where those throws are going and how the Bears aim to fix this area of the offense. https://t.co/4yk9JByacl
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 21, 2022
Fields is leading the league with a 3.26-second release time. He needs to get the ball out quicker. It is nice that Fields is always looking for the big play. That same mentality is also getting him sacked and costing the Bears chances to pick up yards.
He needs to sometimes hit his check downs or just let the ball rip and trust his receiver will get to the spot he is throwing. Thankfully for Fields, Lovie Smith does not like to blitz a lot. Fields should be facing a lot of four-man pressures and if the pass blocking can hold up, Fields hopefully has some time to scan the field.
It would help if his two main targets started to make plays.