Bear Digest

Clutch QBs Not Exactly a Bears Strength

Justin Fields has not been able to master pulling out wins late in games but few Bears QBs actually have.
Gene Chamberlain|
Clutch QBs Not Exactly a Bears Strength
Clutch QBs Not Exactly a Bears Strength

In this story:

Chicago Bears

The debate rages on about Justin Fields even as the schedule dwindles to six remaining games.

Winning games is one way Fields can alleviate many concerns, and doing it in a particular fashion might help even more.

Fields' rise to consistency seems to be occurring statistically but it's coming without wins, unless six in 26 starts constitutes progress.

It's coming without one other component vital for winning quarterbacks. If this trait surfaces, Fields very well could remain the future. If it doesn't, it's difficult to see how the Bears would want to stake their future on him.

It is the ability to deliver at game's end, best indicated by fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives.

Failure Against Lions

Last week Fields had the chance to win a game by putting it away merely with a first down, not a touchdown or field goal. He didn't need a comeback or game-winning score at the end, just a first down. Lions QB Jared Goff led his team to two touchdowns without Fields managing a first down.

"I mean through the end, I thought he did a nice job, especially with having the (injury) layover and not playing ball for a little while, mentally, dialed in," Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. "Even leading up to that, like I said before, two weeks prior to that, he had a chance to play, so he was dialed in and ready to roll. So that part was really good.

"But still, you’re going against really good football team and to be able to go out there and execute and play the way that he did, I thought he gave us a chance to win, for sure."

Gave them the chance to win, but they didn't. He didn't.

Sure, the Bears defense collapsed at the end.

"We needed someone to make a play," Jaylon Johnson said Friday.

Offense Can Make Plays Too

Anyone could, but the offense also had its chance to offset defensive failure and couldn't. Fields tried the deep ball on third-and-9 instead of looking for DJ Moore coming across on a short route with a chance at catch and run for the first down. Tyler Scott didn't run out his route correctly and the incompletion led to a Bears punt.

"I think that's all part of your growth and when you're going through those types of situations, you always want to factor in who people are," Getsy said. "Matchups are always kind of a starting point of our week when you're putting your plan together.

"But the cool part about it was just the way that he processed it, the way he communicated, the way that he talked about why he did what he did and what he saw—that's all real growth and stuff like that. And he made a good throw. His feet need to be cleaned up a little bit on that one, in that moment, it kind of felt, the left side that he kind of had to take a little extra hitch, but at the same time, he was seeing everything clearly and made a good throw, too. And Tyler will make that the next time we give him that opportunity."

He didn't this time, and Fields didn't complete the pass. They didn't win.

Fields also had two other chances on handoffs with RPO plays before the pass, but decided to hand it to Khalil Herbert rather than run himself. Decision making isn't just passing. Option decisions are critical.

"Yeah, that's not an exact science," Getsy said of RPOs. "I think in my past and my history of doing this thing at this level and the college level, there's no exact science to exactly how you tell that quarterback to make the decision on it.

"I think there’s plenty of times throughout that game that you would say that if you're coaching it, you'd say, 'Why did you keep that?' But sometimes it is who's that person and who are you? And you have to feel what you feel, right? And I think from Justin's standpoint he made the right decision. We've got to execute the rest of the play a lot better the next time and we will."

No Game-Winning Drives

The problem is it just keeps happening. There are always reasons why they don't get that winning drive.

Fields had two game-winning drives within two weeks of each other to start the 2022 season with the 49ers game and Texans game. He really had to do nothing for the game-winning drive against Houston as the ball was handed to them in the red zone and they kicked the winning field goal. He has had none this year and in 2021. His two game-winning drives in the 2022 season included one fourth-quarterback comeback, against the Niners.

Comeback statistics properly reflect Bears quarterback futility overall better than any numbers.

Their all-time leader for fourth-quarterback comebacks and game-winning drives is Jay Cutler, who ranks 24th all time for NFL fourth-quarter comebacks with 24. With the Bears, Cutler had 16 fourth-quarter comebacks and 18 game-winning drives with the Bears.

The Bears No. 2 for game-winning drives isn't even the player regarded by many as the franchise's all-time great QB. Sid Luckman had eight fourth-quarter comebacks and nine game-winning drives. It was Bob Avellini. From 1975-84, Avellini had 10 game-winning drives.  

Captain Comeback himself, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is up there, at No. 4, his jersey number. No doubt Jim McMahon would have rated higher than sixth if he had been kept around longer or if the 1980s defense hadn't been so dominant that it made comebacks unnecessary.

In Fields' defense, he had neither the receivers, offensive line nor defense to put up big comeback numbers. However, comebacks are not necessarily always produced by quarterbacks who had the greatest receivers, backs, blocking or defense.

Avellini's rank says this much. All he had was a so-so defense and the greatest running back of all time, but the receivers were always spotty, just like his blocking.

Mitchell Trubisky had sporadic blocking, great defense and respectable receivers on his side but still managed to do better at late-game heroics than Fields has.

In one season, Virgil Carter had three fourth-quarter comebacks and a game-winning drive during 1968 as a successful last-ditch starter. This was with Gale Sayers going out with a torn ACL midway through the season on a team that the next year would win one game.

Nick Foles had three fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives in Chicago and started only 10 games. Fields has had 32 career starts and still isn't close to the number Foles had.

It all says Fields either just is not a winner or the GMs have done an awful job of putting talent around him.

Or it could say both.

Bears QB Kings of Clutch

4th-Quarter Comebacks, Game-Winning Drives for Bears QBs

1. Jay Cutler 16 4Q, 18 GWD, 102 games

2. Bob Avellini 10 4Q, 7 GWD, 73 games

2. Sid Luckman 8 4Q, 9 GWD*, 128 games

4. Jim Harbaugh 7 4Q, 9 GWD, 89 games

5. Bill Wade 8 4Q, 7 GWD, 59 games

6. Jim McMahon 6 4Q, 7 GWD, 66 games

7. George Blanda 6 4Q, 6 GWD, 115 games

7. Mitchell Trubisky 5 4Q, 7 GWD, 51 games

9, Jim Miller 5 4Q, 6 GWD, 32 games

10. Ed Brown 5 4Q 5 GWD, 98 games

10. Rex Grossman 4 4Q, 6 GWD*, 36 games

10. Mike Tomczak 4 4Q, 6 GWD, 77 games

10. Erik Kramer 4 4Q, 6 GWD, 49 games

*Also had postseason game-winning drive.

SOURCE: Pro Football Reference

 Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

Home/News