The excuses and explanations can’t be endless. There has to be an expiration date on them.
The reality is that this season is going badly for Bears quarterback Justin Fields, and choosing to be in denial isn’t productive. He was a disaster Sunday against the Texans, and it’s almost impossible for the Bears to win when he plays like that.
Almost.
Linebacker Roquan Smith bailed him out with a late interception to set up Cairo Santos’ game-winning field goal for a 23-20 escape.
Fields had little to do with that outcome. He completed 8 of 17 passes for 106 yards with two interceptions for a career-worst 27.7 passer rating and opened his self-assessment with, ‘‘Everybody in the stadium knows I didn’t play as well as I wanted to,’’ but quickly let loose about how he really felt.
‘‘Straight up, I just played like — I want to say the A-word, but I’m not gonna do that,’’ Fields said. ‘‘I just played like trash. I played terrible. Really just gotta be better.’’
When asked what specifically he needs to fix, he answered, ‘‘A lot of things.’’
The Bears went ahead 10-0 after two possessions, but they nearly blew the lead by the end of the first quarter. Fields was deep in his own end of the field and overthrew tight end Cole Kmet over the middle for an interception by rookie safety Jalen Pitre. The Texans had first-and-goal at the 5-yard line when safety Eddie Jackson wiped it out with an interception in the end zone.
Fields sailed another pass early in the fourth that could have cost the Bears the game. On third-and-six from the Bears’ 39, Fields threw too deep for receiver Darnell Mooney, and the ball again went into Pitre’s arms. The Texans got to the Bears’ 35-yard line before the defense again rescued Fields by pushing them out of field-goal range.
Fields’ poor performance is more significant than the Bears eking out a victory against the lowly Texans. In the long-term aspiration to contend for a championship, this victory is a footnote to Fields’ struggles, not the other way around.
Having a franchise quarterback matters more than anything in the NFL, and the single greatest priority for the Bears this season is to determine whether Fields is that guy.
It doesn’t look promising at the moment.
Fields was the only starter in the NFL to throw fewer than 20 passes in the first two weeks, doing so twice, and he did it again Sunday. He had a 100-yard cushion for last place in yards passing. The Bears can wave around a 2-1 start, but this isn’t a template for anything legitimate.
Fields’ debacle Sunday could be brushed aside if it was an aberration, but this game fits painfully well into his young career.
For the season, Fields has completed 51.1% of his passes for 297 yards, thrown two touchdowns against four interceptions and posted a 50.0 passer rating.
Circumstances certainly worked against him as a rookie, when he threw 10 interceptions and had a 72.8 rating, but coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense is supposed to be tailored to his skills.
Fields isn’t claiming he needs more time to acclimate to the scheme.
‘‘It’s early right now, but I can guarantee you all the guys in the locker room on the offense aren’t gonna make that excuse,’’ he said. ‘‘You can really throw that out the window for me.’’
While it’s obvious this is a mess, it’s not so clear how to untangle it. Fields certainly has played his part in it, and 14 interceptions in 15 career games is concerning. But when he sits in the pocket forever, is it indecision or has general manager Ryan Poles not given him receivers who can get open? Mooney is the Bears’ most accomplished receiver, and he’s in his third season.
When Fields hurries a throw or almost instantly takes off scrambling, is that impatience or is he smartly countering his fledgling offensive line? He was sacked five times and was under pressure on the interception in the fourth.
‘‘On any unit, it’s always everybody,’’ coach Matt Eberflus said, echoing the empty answers former coach Matt Nagy always gave about Mitch Trubisky. ‘‘You can never just point to one guy. I don’t think that’s the answer; it never is. It’s the protection, it’s the route combinations being in sync — it’s everything.’’
Everything includes him and Getsy.
It accomplishes nothing to take the ball out of Fields’ hands and run draw plays on third down, as the Bears did twice.
And it’s even more egregious that Eberflus ran the clock out at halftime with three timeouts in his pocket. He went conservative, clinging to the hope of a 14-13 deficit rather than give Fields a shot to lead a drive. Eberflus admitted he mismanaged that scenario, saying, ‘‘I’ve gotta be better.’’
The best-case scenario for the Bears is for Fields to be their answer. It would solve the biggest problem any team faces. Eberflus and Poles haven’t given Fields a proper opportunity to prove that, but he also hasn’t provided much evidence that he would be able to make the most of it anyway.
