“We could’ve put up at least 35, 40 points,” Fields said of the offense slipping into a lull after its early 21-0 lead.
This should have been an easy one for Justin Fields and the Bears on Sunday, playing at home against one of the NFL’s worst teams, but it was a grueling trudge as usual.
Merry Christmas, everyone. The Bears got you an unsightly, uninspiring 27-16 win over the Cardinals — a team that can’t do hardly anything right and has won three games all season. At least it’s better than socks. Maybe.
Fields missed a huge opportunity to pile up numbers against an absolutely awful defense and looked like he was headed that way early as the Bears took a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
At least he knows.
“Definitely gotta work on sustaining that firepower,” Fields said. “We came out, 21 points, boom. We’ve gotta keep doing that.
“I felt like we could’ve put up at least 35, 40 points. We’ve gotta stay on top of us and not get complacent, because you never know what’s gonna happen, as we have found out.”
Sure enough, the Cardinals made it a one-score game with 6:37 left and got the ball back with a chance to tie it two minutes later.
Fields ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, showcasing his greatest attribute, but this season has been all about proving himself as a passer. He completed 15 of 27 for 170 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the end zone for a 71.5 passer rating.
The conditions were imperfect after tight end Cole Kmet left at halftime with a knee injury and top wide receiver DJ Moore hurt his ankle on the second play of the game, but life in the NFL is almost always going to be imperfect. Fields didn’t use that as an excuse, saying instead, “You just play the play.
