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Just two games into the 2023 NFL season and things seem to be going south quickly in Chicago with the Bears, as quarterback Justin Fields gave an eye-opening quote to the press on Wednesday.
According to reporter Dan Wiederer, who covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune, Fields acknowledged he has been playing “too robotic” so far this year. Then, when asked why, he gave a simple yet loaded one-word answer: “Coaching.”
The current head coach of the Bears is 53-year-old Matt Eberflus, who is in his second season as the team’s head coach. The Bears’ offensive coordinator is Luke Getsy, who is already on the receiving end of calls for his job.
Justin Fields acknowledged he has been playing too robotic, then bit the pin off the grenade and rolled it into the building with his explanation for why he believes it is that way: "Coaching."
Wow.
A LOT more on that in a bit.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 20, 2023
So far this season, in two losses to the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Fields has completed 60% of his passes for 427 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Strangely, despite his massive success running the ball last season, Fields has only carried the ball 13 times for 62 yards throughout the first two games.
One clip of Fields dropping back for a pass has gone particularly viral, as it shows the third-year QB holding the ball for nearly five seconds despite having a bevy of open receivers downfield.
Since being drafted by the Bears with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, the former Ohio State Buckeye has won just five games and has compiled an overall record of 5-22 after 27 career starts. In those 27 starts, Fields has completed 59% of his passes for 4,539 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions, while also rushing 245 times for 1,625 yards and another 11 touchdowns.
Making matters worse for Fields and the Bears is the fact that they opted to trade away the #1 overall pick in last year’s draft to the Carolina Panthers in a year that saw three quarterbacks taken in the top four picks.
The Bears currently sit at 0-2 and are longshots to get their first victory of the year this weekend as they’ll be taking on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who are favored by 13 points in the matchup.