Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been subjected to some big hits during his three-year career, including plenty of late hits that haven’t been flagged by officials.
That was once again true in Sunday’s game against the Lions — as early as the first play from scrimmage — when Fields ran to his left and slid only to be hit late by linebacker Jack Campbell. And, as Bears fans would correctly guess, there was no flag thrown.
Head coach Matt Eberflus, and Fields himself, pleaded with officials for a flag for the late hit, but they didn’t get it — not for that first hit or any of the others Fields took during the game.
“I’m very active on that,” Eberflus told reporters Monday. “I’m always in (the officials’) ear about that. Because protecting the quarterbacks in this league is big. Those guys are the league. So, it’s important that we do that and we continue to do that. If you have a guy who’s a runner, he slides down like that, we got to protect him. I wasn’t happy about that first one. I let them know about it. It’s just not the right thing to do. We just got to make sure we take care of our quarterbacks.”
Unfortunately, this has developed into a trend where Fields doesn’t receive the same protection other quarterbacks are afforded in the league. While it’s true Fields is a dual-threat quarterback who often finds himself on the run — making him more prone to these late hits — there’s also a clear rule in place about late hits on mobile quarterbacks who give themselves up.
But, for whatever reason, officials don’t seem to think that rule applies to Fields. According to Nicholas Moreano, Fields hasn’t drawn a single unnecessary roughness call all season.
Safety Jaquan Brisker didn’t hold back when asked about the officials’ treatment of Fields — and how those late hits are putting his teammate at risk.
“They should just treat him fair,” Brisker said Monday. “He is a quarterback. I know he’s 230 (pounds) and he’s running a 4.3, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s a quarterback and you have to protect him. It’s disappointing. Obviously, the other team is being told to do dirty stuff after the play, hitting him a certain way. It’s obviously being told by how they have treated him the last couple of weeks. A lot of shots to the head. It’s very disappointing seeing a guy like that take hits like that.
“One of those hits, God forbid, could be something very bad. I think the league needs to get on that and notice that. It’s bad.”
