Matt Eberflus liked hearing quarterback Justin Fields say he didn’t want to run for 1,000 yards every year.
“That’s great,” the Bears head coach said Tuesday. “That means he’s excited about passing the ball and staying in the pocket, which makes him even more dangerous when he does run.
“So I think we pick and choose our moments when we have to do that. … In critical moments, third down, red zone, two-minute [drills], when you’ve got to create something.”
That’s precisely what Bills quarterback Josh Allen did Saturday. While no one will mistake the two quarterbacks for each other — Fields has about 1,800 fewer passing yards than Allen this season — his run-pass balance is a good template for the Bears next year and beyond. Allen has run 109 times this season, 34 times fewer than Fields. His 705 rushing yards are fourth among quarterbacks.
When the Bills went down by eight with about 12 minutes left to play Saturday, Allen went to work. Four of Allen’s 10 runs and 50 of his 77 rushing yards came on the ensuing drive.
He ran for two yards on first down. Two plays later, from the Bills’ 43, the quarterback took a shotgun snap, planted his right foot and ran over the right guard. Allen bent his run from the right hash mark to the left at midfield. At the Dolphins’ 40, he was already outside the numbers. He stumbled at the 23 and was touched for the first time at the 13. Allen was pushed out of bounds for a 44-yard gain.
Allen ran for five yards on the next play, where he the Dolphins were flagged for hitting him late. He threw incomplete, ran over left tackle for a loss of one and threw a five-yard touchdown. On the two-point conversion, the Bills called another designed quarterback run. Allen stretched the ball across the line, just barely, to tie the game.
“What a dynamic player,” Eberflus said. “He’s just massive in his size and is so strong and very hard to bring down. He has the ability — they do designed runs with him a lot, the quarterback draws, the quarterback sweeps, they do all those things with him as well and he’ll take it and run.
“But he’s a guy that’s pretty good at keeping his eyes downfield. And that’s where you get the most damage, and I think he’s done a nice job with that.”
The Bears calling quarterback runs more selectively will keep Fields safer. Tuesday, Fields reiterated his complaint that Eagles defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh hit him in the head when he slid at the end of a four-yard, first-quarter scramble Sunday. The official, he said, told him it wasn’t a foul.
“It’s been like too many times this year where I felt like I’ve gotten hit late or something like that and there’s been no flag,” he said. “So, I mean, I’m going to be on the refs looking for a call. … I’m going to be begging for those calls and just hope I get one in the near future.”
When the Bears talk about Fields growing, they point to him being able to balance his otherworldly running ability with a dangerous passing attack. The former is obvious — he’s the third quarterback in NFL history to reach 1,000 rushing yards in a season. But for the Bears offense to be well-rounded, Fields needs to attack downfield. That’s what happened in the fourth quarter when Fields found receiver Byron Pringle wide open for a 35-yard touchdown.
“It’s just adaptation,” Fields said. “Of course I’ve had to run a little bit more this year, so I think my body has adapted to that. And, of course, as I’ve gotten better at running.
“I’m just trying to adapt to the game and adapt to what I need to do to help my team win.”
