Justin Fields has been under fire once again for underperforming. However, it’s not entirely his fault. After all, he is barely ever allowed to pass the football. As for Fields offensive coordinator on the Bears, he doesn’t see any problems moving into Week 5 of the 2022 NFL season. Which might be a little weird.
To put this into perspective, Fields ranks last in a variety of quarterback categories. He is ranked 32nd with 16.8 passing attempts per game, a 50.7 completion percentage, a 6.0 interception percentage, 117.8 passing yards per game and a 58.7 passer rating. That passer rating happens to be far worse than anybody else. As no other quarterback has below a 70 rating.
Luke Getsy, offensive coordinator, said this, “I don’t think he’s had a rough month. I think he’s gotten better each week. I think he’s growing tremendously. And you know, it’s not easy. We’re playing good football teams, and it’s not easy to become the level of quarterback that he wants to become, and I know that he can become.” While it’s great that his coaches have confidence in him, I would appreciate them letting him air it out a little bit more than he is right now. 16 pass attempts per game shouldn’t be happening with a young signal caller like that.
Getsy continued by saying, “The important thing is that we stay focused. Keep our eyes on that progress or on that process and we make sure we get better each and every week. And I believe that we’re in that phase.” Fields has turned the football over in 11 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. In the last decade of football, only one other quarterback has had a longer streak. That being Eli Manning with 14 games.
Fields Panic Growing
Fields is dead last in passing yards per game at 97.5. And that’s not really something you can defend entering Week 5. Granted, there are deeper problems on this offense than just Fields. We already talked about the lack of pass plays being sent in for him. However, there is also a severe lack of weapons in the pass game. Yes, Darnell Mooney has flashed potential but there really isn’t anybody else that’s consistently open.
They get the Minnesota Vikings this weekend. the team that Fields put up career highs against the last time he played them. It’s going to be a long process for Fields and this entire offense moving forward, but there’s certainly growing confusion and concern for the fans who don’t understand what’s going on. In my personal opinion, I believe Fields is going to be completely fine. He’s shown more than enough talent so far. He’s just got a lack a weapons, a coordinator that doesn’t like to throw the football and has been sacked the second most times in the league through four games. Fields can turn it around but ONLY IF the team lets him do so.