It was enough to dream on \u2014 even if it was against the Dolphins\u2019 second- and third-stringers.<\/b>
\nJustin Fields rolled right, looked back across the field and saw Jesse James with no one around him. The Bears\u2019 rookie quarterback stopped and flicked the ball 24 yards in the air toward the tight end, who was so open when he caught the ball that he moonwalked six yards into the end zone. Bears fans, watching a game at Soldier Field for the first time since the end of the 2019 season, roared with approval at the 30-yard touchdown. So did LeBron James. \u201cJustin Fields is so SPECIAL man!!\u201d the Lakers star tweeted a minute later. \u201cKeep going young [king].\u201d The world\u2019s greatest basketball player \u2014 a lifelong fan of Ohio State, where Fields shined before the Bears drafted him \u2014 used a crown emoji instead of the word king. Saturday\u2019s exhibition game wasn\u2019t a coronation \u2014 it was merely a 20-13 exhibition win against the Dolphins at Soldier Field. But Fields made the Bears relevant on a live NFL Network broadcast that was only put in place because of national interest in the young quarterback. It was enough to dream on \u2014 even if it was against the Dolphins\u2019 second- and third-stringers. The touchdown pass will lead the Fields highlight reel, followed closely by the nine-yard touchdown run in which Fields looked left, saw his tight end fall down, stepped behind rushing linebacker Tyshun Render like a boxer avoiding a punch and sprinted left for a score. What will be forgotten \u2014 but shouldn\u2019t \u2014 is his struggles up to that point. In Fields\u2019 first nine plays at quarterback, the Bears gained a total of one yard. Fields\u2019 first drive was short-circuited by back-to-back false start penalties \u2014 welcome to the Bears, kid \u2014 and his second featured three-straight incompletions. The third possession was borderline disastrous. On first down, center Sam Mustipher snapped a ground ball to Fields for a loss of two. After Fields threw an incompletion, he decided to roll left on third-and-12. Rather than run out of bounds, Fields ran toward cornerback Nik Needham and, just before he was hit, turned his back. Fields fumbled. The Bears were lucky it rolled out of bounds. The play was similar to the Clemson hit that Fields took in the national semifinal and lamented during training camp. He vowed not to take a hit like that again. When the Bears got the ball back at their own 23 with 45 seconds left in the first half, they decided to let Fields throw against a prevent defense. That did the trick to get him unlocked. After getting, alarmingly, the Bears\u2019 first down of the game, Fields marched a total of 42 yards over seven plays to set up a 53-yard Cairo Santos field goal. That momentum lasted throughout the halftime break. It took Fields eight plays to go 77 yards and score to start the second half \u2014 a drive capped by his touchdown run. The next drive \u2014 which went 70 yards over seven plays \u2014 ended in his touchdown pass to Jesse James, His final drive began at the Bears\u2019 2-yard line. It ended three plays and eight yards later,14 seconds into the fourth quarter. Fields sat down after completing 14-of-20 passes for 142 yards and running five times for 33 yards. Andy Dalton, whom coach Matt Nagy anointed the starter months ago, was uninspiring. He completed 2-of-4 passes for 18 yards and handed off twice during two possessions. Fields took the Field early in the second quarter after DeAndre Houston-Carson intercepted Tua Tagovailoa\u2019s pass intended for former Bears tight end Adam Shaheen at the 1. Bears fans welcomed Fields with a standing ovation. Two plays later, as the Bears walked to the line of scrimmage on third down, they chanted \u201cLet\u2019s go, Feeee-ulds!\u201d By the end, After replacing Fields, third-stringer Nick Foles was booed after his second play and again after his third \u2014 both incompletions \u2014 by fans who didn\u2019t have the chance to do so last year. The Bears trailed 13-0 in the second quarter but scored the game\u2019s final 20 points.<\/p>\n