Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune
answers the question of what Justin Fields must do to take a step forward.
Biggs: Start hitting on the easy throws and short completions.
That would put the offense in better down-and-distance situations and keep drives alive. Fields began making some of the “cheap completions,” as [Luke] Getsy termed them, in the Week 5 loss at Minnesota, but there weren’t a lot against the Commanders when he completed 14 of 27 attempts.
Another question in this article was “What is the Bears biggest problem on offense?” The Tribune writers disappointingly copped out and all three basically answered “everything”. But that’s not really true. Everything is, indeed, a problem. But the biggest problem is Justin Fields. He has the balls in his hands every play and decides what to do with it. And there are ways to work around the other problems.
Fields is dealing with a problem that he’s not surrounded by great talent. We all agree on that. When you’ve got an offensive line that is struggling to protect, the one thing you absolutely positively must do is read the defense, drop back and get the ball out quickly. When you are dealing with wide receivers that aren’t particularly talented, you must throw them open with timing, anticipation throws on those short routes. Fields seems to be constitutionally unable to do this.
Good quarterbacks make the players around them better. Fields compounds their problems.
It is no coincidence that most of the Bears fans that I know came away from the Minnesota game encouraged despite the loss and despite the miserable performance in the first half. It was because they thought Fields look good in the second half. When Fields looked his best he was dropping back hitting his back foot and getting the ball out on shorter passes, as big points out above. This is what he must do in order for the Bears offense to move. If he can’t do that, then he’s not going to be the future for the Bears.