The Chicago Bears pulled off an upset win over the San Francisco 49ers as a monsoon descended upon Soldier Field on Sunday.
While Bears quarterback Justin Fields had a rocky first-half performance against the 49ers in the season opener, he was a huge reason why they were able to mount a comeback victory.
Former Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz was critical of Fields’ performance in Week 1, calling it “completely awful.” Apparently, Martz only watched the first half.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a bad performance by a quarterback in his opening performance of the season,” Martz said on the 33rd Team. “He was just completely awful. He really deflated the football team with his performance.”
Here’s a look at the clip from The 33rd Team:
The #Bears got the win today, but Mike Martz was not impressed with Justin Fields' performance… at all 😬
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) September 12, 2022
“Completely awful?” “Deflated?” Really, that’s the hill Martz is going to die on?
To be fair, if we were talking about Fields’ first-half performance, it would be on point. Fields completed just 3-of-9 passes for 19 yards and an interception. The offense couldn’t do anything, and it looked like a complete disaster.
But this was analysis of Fields’ performance as a whole, and it couldn’t be more wrong. While Fields wasn’t good in the first half, he made plays when he needed to in the second half. That included making something out of nothing, as evidenced by his 51-yard touchdown to receiver Dante Pettis on a scramble drill.
Martz seems to have it out for the Bears this season. Last month, Martz compared Chicago’s offense to the Lions offense in 2008, which is the year they went winless.
Now, he’s focusing on the negative aspects of Fields’ game rather than how he helped lead his team to a comeback win over a Super Bowl contender. Something tells me Martz isn’t done this season. Stay tuned for the next chapter.
