The throw that awakened the Chicago Bears offense Sunday came on the final drive before halftime, a deep shot up the left side by quarterback Justin Fields to wide receiver Darnell Mooney. Fields, seeing a one-on-one matchup against Minnesota Vikings cornerback Chandon Sullivan, hit the top of his drop, took his time and launched.
Mooney, with minimal separation, adjusted to the throw and made a leaping, one-handed catch.
That definitely gave us a lot of momentum, Fields said.
The sequence was enlivening in so many ways, an explosive passing play that put the Bears back into what had been a lopsided game to that point.
That completion set up a touchdown that cut the Vikings lead to 21-10 before halftime. Another touchdown on the first drive of the second half further fueled the Bears rally. With 19 unanswered points, they surged ahead of the Vikings in the fourth quarter.
And while they eventually lost 29-22, the growth that came out of the performance, particularly for Fields and the offense, was encouraging.
The timing is getting better, coach Matt Eberflus said. The rhythm is getting better.
That deep ball to Mooney was impressive not only in the yards gained. It was also an attack-mode shot that came immediately after the Bears benefited from a shanked punt by Ryan Wright that gave them their best starting field position of the afternoon.
Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney makes a one-handed catch away from Vikings cornerback Chandon Sullivan during the second quarter on Oct. 9, 2022. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)
Furthermore, it came on a similar concept to one Fields and Mooney failed to connect on in the first half, with a potential 26-yard touchdown resulting instead in an incompletion and an eventual field goal. On the first try, Fields attempted to make a back-shoulder throw, but the timing and precision were off.
The run-it-back effort at the end of the half was on point.
They were more in sync, Eberflus said.
In a game with a smattering of calming flashes from Fields and the offense, that was the Bears biggest gain, a glimpse at how they can provide juice when its needed most.
On top of that, when Fields returned in the second half to complete 12 of 13 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, he served as both an energy source and a calming influence, contributions that werent lost on offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
[[Don't miss] Column: How can the Bears defense close out opponents? Playing better in the 1st half is a great place to start.]
Still, as a process-obsessed group marches forward, trying to carry momentum into Thursdays quick-turnaround game against the Washington Commanders, a grounded approach is required. Thats why, when Getsy fielded a question Tuesday that asserted Fields had shown tons of progress in recent weeks, he quickly activated a yellow light.
Tons of progress? I dont like using those adjectives that are extreme, Getsy said. Im just not that type of person. But, no, there has been progress. And were sticking to the plan.
Step by step, the Bears remain persistent with their offensive evolution while resisting any urges to skip too far ahead or land on any exaggerated conclusions.
Your goal is to just have progress all year, Fields said Tuesday. Progress takes patience.
Bears running back David Montgomery (32) runs during the final drive of the fourth quarter on Oct. 9, 2022, at U.S. Bank Stadium. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Its fair to acknowledge the moments of progress Fields showed Sunday and to assert without blinking that the Bears offense, from the final drive of the first half onward, appeared competent and, at times, exciting.
Fields was the engine.
He was playing smooth, confident, Mooney said. He was playing calm.
Fields said Tuesday he is working on that latter quality and just this month began adopting some basic breathing exercises he learned from a yoga instructor who visits Halas Hall regularly.
Slow inhale for four seconds. Calm exhale.
Doing that automatically keeps me more calm in the pocket, Fields said.
[[Don't miss] 3 things we heard from the Bears, including Justin Fields breathing exercises and Roquan Smiths take on roughing-the-passer penalties]
Still, the NFL demands high-level consistency. And tons of it. So it will take a couple of months worth of forward steps such as Sundays to validate that Fields and the Bears are even in the earliest stages of a legitimate rise.
Another solid performance Thursday night would be welcome.
Perspective remains a must in the evaluation of any young quarterback. Thus, just as stretches of struggle shouldnt immediately be interpreted as panic-inducing trouble spots, flashes of promise should not trigger instant intoxication either.
In Chicago, though, hyperbole became a free runner into the football conversation this week with the most enthusiastic Fields believers eager to declare that he has turned a corner or taken his game to a new level. Predictably, others have shown an urge to label Fields performance against the Vikings as outstanding, potentially marking an arrival on the path toward stardom.
As a reminder, the Bears totaled 176 yards and 12 points in the second half of a loss. Thats the bungee cord that will keep the internal view in Lake Forest attached to reason.
Getsy was asked Tuesday how Fields production in Minneapolis most of it after halftime altered his stance on whether Fields has what it takes to lead the Bears to a Super Bowl.
I truly dont think about that, Getsy said. I really dont. My focus is on helping him and these other guys get better each week.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields fumbles as he is sacked by Za'Darius Smith (55) of the Vikings during the second half Oct. 9, 2022, in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
Two plays before Ihmir Smith-Marsette became Chicagos spirit-killing scapegoat by making an imprudent decision to stay in bounds and losing a fumble that sealed the Bears loss, Fields exhibited his own shaky ball security.
Done in by a protection breakdown, Fields was engulfed in the pocket and had the football swatted from his right hand by D.J. Wonnum. Had it not been for the hustle of left guard Lucas Patrick, who kept the Bears alive by recovering the fumble, the defeat might have become official there.
Fields final mistake might have easily reduced Bears fans buzz and changed the tone of Chicagos quarterback conversation heading into this shortened week.
Thats at the crux of all of this, that an antsy fan base and far more important, a success-starved franchise must retain clear eyes to accurately interpret what theyre seeing in their quarterbacks development. Everything must be assessed, the good and bad mixed together.
Fields second-half rhythm Sunday provided fuel for an offensive performance that was encouraging and competent but far from landmark.
[[Don't miss] Bears Thursday night game against the Commanders is on Prime Video. Heres how to watch.]
For the offense as a whole, there was a long list of woeful moments, starting with but not limited to the delay-of-game penalty taken before the Bears first play when fullback Khari Blasingame forgot he was supposed to be on the field.
That should never happen, Fields said. We go over the first 10 plays at the walk-through.
Added Eberflus: Thats not good ball. Weve got to be on point there.
The Bears have been masters in not good ball through too much of the first five games. Against the Vikings, their offensive sloppiness included the following:
Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) walks off the field after a 29-22 loss to the Vikings on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, in Minneapolis. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
Still, for the first time this season, the Bears offense seemed to exhibit a promising level of comfort in Minnesota.
You can feel Justin comfortable with where he is right now in the offense, Eberflus said. Hes taking command.
Fields operated within the pocket with much more calm and purpose. In Getsys words, he hunted completions and made a handful of unbelievable escapes (on scrambles) that were ridiculous.
A debatable block-in-the-back penalty against Smith-Marsette negated what could have been a game-changing 52-yard touchdown run by Fields in the fourth quarter.
Fields also slowed himself within the game, making a handful of routine yet critical completions, perhaps none more impressive than a dart to Cole Kmet to convert on third-and-10 in the third quarter.
On that play, Fields combined NFL-caliber pocket awareness and trust with an on-target fastball to an open receiver. The result was a 23-yard gain and offered additional evidence to support Fields postgame assertion that he is steadying himself within the frenetic world of NFL quarterbacking.
Thats the experience part of it, Getsy said. Thats hard for everybody to have patience with. (But) its cool that hes seeing that and saying that.
[[Don't miss] Justin Fields Week 5 performance is no breakthrough but its clear evidence of improvement. Brad Biggs 10 thoughts on the Bears loss.]
Getsy also took note of the way Fields responded to his final-drive fumble, immediately resetting and beating significant pressure on the next snap to find Montgomery for a check-down completion. That pass, caught 4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, turned into a 21-yard gain in crunch time.
To me, thats a really cool moment for a quarterback who can compose himself after that (fumble), then make a really nice play, Getsy said.
In his appropriately demanding way, Getsy continues to push Fields to reach an elevated standard, stressing Tuesday that Fields improving pocket presence still needs work.
Its not where we want it to be and its not good enough yet, he said. But I think were showing signs of growth.
Detached from any exaggerated outside praise or over-the-top criticism, Getsy wants Fields to continue on his path. One step at a time.
Hes starting to play within his style and his ways, Getsy said. And hes finding his own way within our system and helping his teammates. Theres a lot that goes into playing the position. Each week hes been able to take on more and feel more and understand more.
Who knows what the longest-term results and ramifications will be? At this point, thats not Fields focus.
The rest is here:
- Proof-of-Concept Exploit Released for Progress Software OpenEdge Vulnerability - The Hacker News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress being made on fire alarms, Oswego town supervisor says - oswegocountynewsnow.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Progress on the Boyertown Express featured at Dinner - Berks Weekly - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Fire Crews Stop Forward Progress of Two-Acre Brush Fire Near Vandenberg - Santa Barbara Edhat - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Hopewell plans to install speed cameras at three city schools - Progress Index - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- New numbers on progress of penny sales tax - The Post and Courier - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Long Island woman who survived acid attack continues to make progress in recovery - PIX11 New York News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Beam marks progress toward bringing 1st-ever MLS team to San Diego - NBC San Diego - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- McKone: Irish-American progress and paradoxes | Perspective | timesargus.com - Barre Montpelier Times Argus - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Big East reportedly making a lot of progress on media rights deals with CBS, Fox - Awful Announcing - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Berrien County farmers note slow progress on the new Farm Bill - News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- END OF SESSION: Sen. Crider and Rep. Cherry reflect on progress made during the legislative session - Greenfield Daily Reporter - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Vowles being patient with Sargeant but expects to see "progress" - RaceFans - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Inflation ticked up in February, reversing some prior progress - ABC News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Latest NEOM progress video of The Line is indicator of scale - Supercar Blondie - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Statewide Impact of Ohio Intel ProjectEvident in Initial Progress Report - Scioto Post - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX makes significant progress with third Starship orbital test flight - TechCrunch - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- UPDATE: Forward progress stopped on vegetation fire near Lompoc - KSBY News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Lady Rattlers and Diamondbacks ready to roll - Progresstimes - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SpaceX celebrates major progress on the third flight of Starship - Ars Technica - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Helldivers 2 Galactic War live map: Track status and progress with this Liberty-approved web app - Windows Central - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Pittsburgh police will only respond to calls of in-progress emergencies as part of new staffing plan - Police News - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A year of achievement, rebuilding and progress for utilities - Yoursun.com - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Trkiye: No Direct Dialogue with Damascus, No Progress in Normalization - Asharq Al-awsat - English - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- A WORK IN PROGRESS | News | shelbynews.com - Shelbynews - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- From recurrent networks to GPT-4: Measuring algorithmic progress in language models - Tech Xplore - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- U.S. Inability To Address Nuclear Waste Harms Environmental Progress - Newsweek - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Park Progress - Greater Wilmington Business Journal - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- SF supervisor to hold hearing on homeless-shelter progress | Housing | sfexaminer.com - San Francisco Examiner - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- 'It's good to see progress being made on the site': Revised vision for Liberty Theater property in Libertyville - Daily Herald - March 16th, 2024 [March 16th, 2024]
- Diversity Among Emmy Winners Is a Result of Industry Progress - TheWrap - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- What would Dr. King say about progress and 2024? - The Chicago Cusader - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Police: Petersburg woman reportedly used hammer to hit her boyfriend - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - AOL - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lady Tigers Split Last Weeks Game's Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lexington Police Investigate Shooting at Walmart Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Scotts Hill Lions Dominated Last Week Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Older Couple Rescued From Submerged Vehicle Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Fore-ward Progress | Bintelli's new River Ridge facility to focus on making electric golf carts - WDRB - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- VIDEO: Project manager gives update on Glenn McConnell Widening progress - Live 5 News WCSC - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Truck driver sentenced for trafficking cocaine to Prince George County - Progress Index - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- After decades of little progress, Milwaukee begins new approach to improve lives of Black men and boys - madison365.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Women are bored of waiting: Slow progress on shattering the glass ceiling on company boards - I by IMD - I by IMD - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Now Accepting Applications for the 2024 Progress Software Mary Szkely Scholarship for Women in STEM - GlobeNewswire - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- "Some progress made" at Onslow BOE meeting, according to number of parents - WCTI12.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Spokane County crews make great progress ahead of another storm system - Nonstop Local - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- DeSantis took credit for Florida's progress but Iowa may have sniffed out his bravado | Opinion - Yahoo News Canada - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Has the Israeli Military Made Progress in Its Goal of Destroying Hamas? : State of the World from NPR - NPR - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Jan. 19 Panel Examines 30-Year Progress of Women in Research - Mirage News - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Ducks' Midseason Check-in: Progress, Improvement Areas & More - The Hockey Writers - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Companies are hiding their climate progress. A new report explains why. - Grist - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Lou Leonatti With Progress Mexico Gives Hospital Bankruptcy Hearing Update On AM 1340 KXEO Am I Awake Morning Show - KXEO - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Seaside Heights Wants to See Progress From Developers, Will Investigate 'Bamboo' Property - Shorebeat - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Progress over perfection: Is Coach modelling a path for fashion transformation? - Vogue Business - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Watch the video of the Edmonds armed robbery in progress - MyNorthwest - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Albemarle County house burns to the ground in late night fire - The Daily Progress - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- GHDDI and Microsoft Research use AI technology to achieve significant progress in discovering new drugs to treat ... - Microsoft - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Henderson County Suspects Apprehended in Trenton Lexington Progress - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- HCFD Reports Lowest Number of Residential Fires - lexingtonprogress.com - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Unlocking The Future: CAGA's Progress In Web3 And Blockchain Innovation - Benzinga - January 18th, 2024 [January 18th, 2024]
- Underwhelming performance: Quarterbacks still a work in progress - Daily O'Collegian - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility - ny.gov - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- A progress report: The columnist's garden in September - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- September 2023: Innovative researchers celebrate scientific ... - Environmental Factor Newsletter - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Progress over perfectionism - Lynn University - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Signs of progress on new Folsom Medical Office Building - UC Davis Health - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- LA District FUDS team makes progress on Nellis Remedial Action ... - spl.usace.army.mil - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- UFC Fight Night 226 winner Volkan Oezdemir pleased with progress after training with Khamzat Chimaev - Yahoo Sports - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - Deadspin - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Qualifications recognition: A door to collective progress - University World News - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Farm Progress Show opens on Tuesday in Decatur - Herald & Review - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- General Squier sculpture is in progress - The County Press - Thecountypress - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Antimalarial drug discovery: progress and approaches - Nature.com - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Seeing signs of progress, Tigers take on White Sox - The Albany Herald - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Commentary: Nurturing progress The evolution of the Annie ... - Standard-Examiner - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- World Cup kiss: feminist progress is always met with backlash, but ... - The Conversation - September 3rd, 2023 [September 3rd, 2023]
- Mapping Progress in Pancreatic Cancer Surgery: Looking to the ... - OncLive - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Review in progress: 'Starfield' takes the 'Skyrim' formula out into the ... - GeekWire - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Falmouth Water Quality Committee Making Progress On Ocean Outfall - CapeNews.net - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]
- Youngstown schools, teachers make progress on negotiations ... - Youngstown Vindicator - September 1st, 2023 [September 1st, 2023]