The Bears emerged from their mini-bye disguised as the Ravens.
That was the conclusion drawn Monday night by Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who saw quarterback Justin Fields’ designed runs as a reflection of the best running quarterback in the sport.
“I think with the extended time they added some plays that I think we saw in the Baltimore game with Lamar Jackson,” McCourty said. “Some of those style of plays.”
Ten of them, in fact — or three fewer than the 13 designed quarterback runs the Bears called in the first six games of the season combined. Monday, they produced 56 yards, one touchdown — and a 33-14 upset win at Gillette Stadium.
Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy might have found the Bears’ offensive identity.
“I thought it brought a whole different element to our offense,” Fields said.
Running back David Montgomery, who had 15 carries for 62 yards, said Fields’ planned runs “softened up” the tackle box. Fields’ read-option keepers worked well against the Patriots’ frequent man defense looks.
“They can’t predict or see what kind of formation we are in to make it seem like they know what we are doing,” Montgomery said. “We switched it up a bit, and it worked out for the best for us.”
Patriots boss Bill Belichick, who admitted to being “outcoached,” saw in the first quarter what the Bears were trying to do with Fields.
“Once a couple of those started hitting early in the game, then we could see that’s the way the game was going to go,” he said. “So, yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise. Once it declared, then we were definitely playing for it.
“We didn’t do a great job defending it.”
General manager Ryan Poles defended Getsy a few hours before kickoff, saying he’d done a good job blending the run and pass and managing Fields “through the ups and downs” of the season.
“And then, just the ability to adapt and adjust to the strengths of the guys,” he said.
He played to those strengths Monday. While the Bears change their strategy for each opponent, designed Fields runs should be here to stay.
Counting scrambles, Fields finished with 14 rushes for 82 yards. Only a few of the planned runs, though, ended up with the quarterback getting touched.
“I wasn’t trying to take many big hits,” Fields said. “So I knew I had more designed runs this game. I knew I was going to have to run the ball a little bit more. Just being able to last the entire game was big.”
He slid at the end of his first planned run, an 8-yarder over left guard after faking a fly sweep to Dante Pettis late in the first quarter. Fields capped that drive with a 3-yard touchdown run, this time over the left tackle, after a fake sweep to fellow receiver Velus Jones.
Fields ran out of bounds on three of his six second-quarter designed runs — a read-option keeper right for 15 yards and another left for four, as well as a sweep left for nine. He slid on a nine-yard draw late in the first half.
“Just gotta be smart about it,” head coach Matt Eberflus said Tuesday. “He’s got very good instincts that way, so we trust him.”
Fields would have run more were the game not such a blowout. Take away the final kneeldown, and the Bears called designed quarterback runs twice in the second half.
Fields has room to improve — he fumbled four times on passing downs, and didn’t lose a single one — but might have helped the Bears’ offense find a direction heading into Dallas.
“We just have to do it the right way – and we’ve got to be creative with how we do it,” Eberflus said. “So we’re gonna do that. We’re working on the gameplan right now, so we’re excited about getting that going. …
“I think once you put it on tape, the guys have to defend it.”
