USA Today
Bears Enjoy Final Look at Justin Fields
Two players who might not even be with the Bears next week settled a 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans Saturday to close preseason.
It was the player who is their future who created the most interest, and lived up to expectations.
That would be quarterback Justin Fields.
Nick Foles threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Jesper Horsted with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter, one of three TD catches by the former practice squad tight end, and the Bears made it stand up for the win.
One of the TDs by Horsted was from Fields, and now Foles and Horsted will wait with plenty of other Bears now for roster moves on Tuesday.
Fields didn't have a strong night as the starter and threw for just 54 yards on 7 of 10, but 20 yards came on one play and it was the type of play the Bears drafted him to accomplish.
Fields saw no one open, rolled right out of the pocket and stayed behind the line, then delivered a perfectly thrown pass to Horsted's outside shoulder in a crowd for the go-ahead TD just before halftime.
It ended a 78-yard Bears drive that took six plays in only 55 seconds. The Bears benefited on the drive from one boneheaded Tennessee body slam penalty.
"Of course, me being a mobile quarterback I have to be able to make throws like that when it threatens the defense to run or pass," Fields said.
Fields had the entire first-team offensive line on the field the entire first half and during the drive. They managed to avoid mistakes, like the false starts and holding penalties that plagued them in the first quarter. Germain Ifedi also gave up a sack of Fields.
"I think that the time of possession that the Titans had was crazy so of course the offense wasn't able to get on the field as much as we wanted to but when we did we just wanted to take every opportunity we got to try to put the ball in the end zone," Fields said. "So it was good that we got that last two-minute drive to score the touchdown."
The TD pass could just as easily have been a scramble for yardage but Fields passed up that for the quick strike.
"The one thing about Justin that I think he does a great job with is he keeps his eyes downfield," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "That's one of the things I've come away with in training camp is realizing he's pretty special when he's outside the pocket."
Until the TD before the half, the Bears offense had done little but coach Matt Nagy came away feeling positive.
"We were not getting a lot of first downs, they were getting first downs," Nagy said. "And it just, it was three-and-out and then a punt. (We were) trying to get the run game going just a little bit but at the same point in time it just happened that we didn't get many plays."
The only points had come when Trevis Gipson hit Logan Woodside as he threw and Tre Roberson picked off the wobbling throw, then returned it 27 yards for a Bears TD and a 7-7 tie.
The Bears defense also had a first-quarter interception by Danny Trevathan of Titans quarterback Matt Barkley to end a scoring threat. Trevathan and Eddie Goldman both started and played into the second quarter.
The backup Bears defense gave up a 72-yard drive to a 21-yard Sam Ficken field goal, but it would have been a touchdown if not for Thomas Graham Jr. tracking down Khari Blasingame on a 50-yard screen pass from behind to stop the play inside the 10. They forced the field goal and it saved four points.
The Bears lost a 21-10 lead when the third-team defense gave up TD drives of 80 and 78 yards in the third and fourth quarters.
Cameron Batson powered in for the go-ahead scored with 11:45 left in the game to put the Titans 24-21 but then Foles worked his magic on the 54-yard pass to Horsted.
Foles went 10 of 13 for 142 yards and two TDs as more backups around the league went down with injuries. It seems almost a matter of time before some team calls the Bears to acquire him via trade.
Horsted also had a 6-yard TD catch from Horsted in the third quarter. His back-shoulder catch from Fields was outstanding but the 54-yard catch and run for the winning points was highlight material. He caught it with one hand at the 40 and raced in past the defense.
"I just threw the hand out and felt very confident in making that play and getting upfield," Horsted said.
It might have been Horsted's last game in Chicago, as well. Any team needing a third tight end might want to bring in a player who has half a season of game experience and can make three TD catches in a preseason game.
"It's just going to be kind of a waiting game," Horsted said. "There's a lot of really good people who flashed great film this camp so I'm always competing against them.
"And I feel like I played my best today, so I just wait and see what Tuesday at 3 o'clock brings me."
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
