Justin Fields Finds the Secret to Scoring
It's easy to label Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney overly optimistic, except others at Halas Hall believe the same thing he does.
Chief among them is quarterback Justin Fields.
The general feeling among Bears offensive players is the mud pit the offense seems bogged down in will not hold them back forever.
"A lot of plays, even in the games, like after the game we didn't win, we didn't get what we wanted to get out of it but you definitely see and definitely understand there's something there," Mooney said. "Things are going to eventually pop, and when it does, it's going to be extremely fun.
"Right now, it's just trying to get everything on the same page, and like I said, it's a process, and we'll get there."
If recognition is the first step, quarterback Justin Fields may have helped them take it with his realization of something he needs to do.
Ranked last in the league in yardage and passing, and 30th in scoring, the Bears offense can have better success if it begins stringing together plays like Fields did on two drives to touchdowns Sunday in the 24-14 loss to Green Bay.
It might seem like a given, but Fields wasn't necessarily used to doing this at Ohio State.
“That's one big difference I'm starting to find out is you've got to put drives together rather just have a good play here, have a good play there," Fields said. "I mean, because if you have a bad play in college, it's easy to get that yardage you just lost the next play, where in the NFL it's not as easy so just putting good plays together back to back and just creating more drives that create more momentum and just us more in a rhythm."
The reason for this is as obvious as big monsters like he'll see on Sunday in Tampa Bay's Vita Vea or edge rusher Shaquil Barrett. The defending Super Bowl champions are No. 1 against the run.
"You just have to not necessarily accept the fact but we're not in the Big 10 where Ohio State is most likely more talented than the other teams you play," said the former Buckeyes quarterback. "It's the NFL now.
"It's a longer season so you just have to bounce back–you get knocked down you just have to keep coming back. As long as we do that we will be good and we will continue to grow."
Fields was lauded by Bears coach Matt Nagy on Monday for three straight passes on the team's first scoring drive and then an 11-play drive in the fourth quarter to get the Bears within 17-14. It's plays like these Fields needs to repeat.
"I feel great about it," Fields said. "I think we are growing every day. The part that sucks is not being able to win games. As long as we are growing and getting better every day I think that’s the main focus right now.
"Eventually our growth will pay off at the end so we just hope to win as we continue to grow rather than continue to grow and not win."
If it's going to pop against Tampa Bay, it better be a big pop because the Buccaneers have shut down plenty of stronger teams. And they'll have a little extra incentive because the Bears beat them 20-19 last year at Soldier Field with Nick Foles at quarterback.
"Of course, they have one of the best front sevens in the league," Fields said. "They do a great job stopping the run. Their scheme is just great, too."
They also have a 44-years masterful quarterback in Tom Brady and it's the second time in a row they'll be facing a hall-of-fame passer. Fields watched Aaron Rodgers on Sunday and how he handled a strong Bears defense, and also noticed something on film of Brady similar to what he saw from the Packers passer as he tries to pick up some useful thoughts on how to improve.
"You can just take away how they operate their drives and how they operate a game," Fields said. "I think that's one thing I took away from last week is just, like I said before, the drives that you have to put together to consistently score, you have to put together a lot of plays on a good drive to score. It just can't be two, three good plays on a drive.
"You have to put together consistently positive plays to get down the field and at least get points. That's one thing I caught last game and really just I learned from last game is just, if it's a bad play, don't make it worse. Sometimes of course I'm gonna try to extend plays but if it's not there, you get rid of the ball and move on to the next play."
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