On January 7th at 4:30 PM EST, third-year quarterback Justin Fields will lead his streaking Bears club to Lambeau Field to face their historic rivals, the Green Bay Packers, led by first-year starter Jordan Love.
The Packers come into this game fighting with the Los Angeles Rams for a 6th or 7th seed with an 8-8 record. First, however, they need to beat a motivated Bears team. The Bears’ chance to play spoiler to their century-long foes is tempting, but Head Coach Matt Eberflus has not announced whether or not he will be sitting starters.
However, if Flus does decide to play his starters, this is a career-deciding game for Justin Fields. His job as starting quarterback has been questioned since their blown 28-7 lead vs. the Broncos, where Chicago went on to lose 31-28. However, the Bears are 6-4 in their last 10 games, along with being 2-1 against divisional rivals. Fields’ play of late has proved that he deserves a long-term job in the windy city, with DJ Moore unlocking the superstar potential that had been flashed previously in Carolina. Moore has achieved the Bears’ receiving record in a season, with 1,100 yards going into week 18, which is 7th in the NFL. While Fields’ performance doesn’t stand out on stat sheets, his film and tapes show spectacular athletic performances that only a few can achieve.
An example of this is his evasion of being sacked twice on 3rd and 8 vs. Atlanta, where he was able to find open space to run for 11 and a first down. He continued to make big plays like these again and again throughout the last month, and it is due to his growth as a leader and as a quarterback. However, Fields’ opponents say that USC quarterback Caleb Williams should be drafted with the #1 pick that the Bears possessed in last year’s trade with Carolina to get DJ Moore. Williams, a junior, is expected to declare for the NFL Draft and is almost guaranteed to be a top pick. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is considered a generational talent who will be a day-one starter for a large majority of teams with a top-10 pick. Williams comes off of a season where his performance was downgraded from the previously mentioned Heisman campaign (4,200 passing yards, 42 passing touchdowns, 5 interceptions), where he had a step down in passing yards (3,633), passing touchdowns (30), and the same amount of interceptions (5).
On the other hand, Fields truthers say that Chicago should either do two things: trade down for another haul of picks and another big-name player, similar to what they did last year with Carolina. The other possibility is to draft 2023 Heisman runner-up Marvin Harrison Jr. from Ohio State. Harrison Jr., the son of legendary Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison, was named an All-American and is regarded as a franchise cornerstone if drafted.
In the 4th quarter of the 37-17 dominance over the Falcons, chants rained down from the snowy Soldier Field of “We Want Fields.” It is clear that the fans have faith in their young QB, and want him to be the face of the franchise in the windy city. It is just up to the higher-ups to fulfill their wishes.
