Justin Fields’ preseason debut Saturday had enough promise, intrigue and big plays that it’s clear he will be playing sooner rather later as a rookie for the Chicago Bears.
Fields led scoring drives on three consecutive possessions beginning late in the second quarter as the Bears rallied from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Miami Dolphins 20-13 on a sunny afternoon at Soldier Field with 43,235 in attendance — the first home game in front of fans since Dec. 22, 2019.
Fields played with a calmness — moving out of the pocket on rollouts and scrambles with a purpose — and veteran tight end Jesse James said the quarterback had command in the huddle after replacing veteran Andy Dalton, who played two series without producing a first down.
Fields put Cairo Santos in position for a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half after completions to Justin Hardy and James in the final 16 seconds. He had the presence to identify man coverage in the red zone and abandon the pocket for an 8-yard touchdown run on the first possession of the third quarter. On the next possession, two plays after a 21-yard scramble that highlighted not only his speed but vision and anticipation, Fields found James uncovered in the Dolphins secondary for a 30-yard touchdown.
With the future arriving quickly, the Bears are trying to fix their offensive line before it’s too late. The game had just ended when agent Vincent Taylor announced client Jason Peters, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro, agreed to terms with the Bears on a one-year contract.
It looks a lot like 2009 all over again — the Bears 12 years ago signed Orlando Pace within hours of trading to acquire quarterback Jay Cutler. The Bears had better hope the 39-year-old Peters is better equipped to hold down the left tackle position than Pace was at 34 in his only season with the franchise because that experiment was quickly determined to be a mistake.
The best news of the day was that Fields did plenty to excite Bears fans and reassure management and the coaching staff. It should be noted the offensive line didn’t allow a sack, and the Bears rushed for 171 yards on 24 carries (7.1 average) with right guard James Daniels (quad) sidelined and right tackle Germain Ifedi (hip flexor) still yet to pass his physical.
Daniels’ injury isn’t believed to be serious, and the team is encouraged with how Lachavious Simmons, a seventh-round pick a year ago, has looked in place of Ifedi. But left tackle has been such a problem that the team openly talked about fifth-round rookie Larry Borom competing for the job after one practice in full pads. But Borom has been sidelined with a concussion since that Aug. 3 practice.
The Bears prepared for training camp with the idea that second-round pick Teven Jenkins, whom they traded up to select, would win the job. Just about everyone but Jenkins has lined up at the position. Four players — Elijah Wilkinson, Borom, Alex Bars and Arlington Hambright — have taken reps with the first team, and Wilkinson was there for the bulk of the preseason opener.
Peters is expected to become the fifth man at the position while Jenkins remains sidelined with what Matt Nagy announced last month was “back tightness.” Nagy has been short on details regarding Jenkins, who was not spotted on the field Saturday. After the game, Nagy said Peters’ addition doesn’t have anything to do with Jenkins, but if the rookie was on the field — or expected back soon — would they really turn to a left tackle nearly as old as the head coach despite his relationship with offensive line coach Juan Castillo?
“It’s more about familiarity with a guy that’s played in this league for a long time,” Nagy said. “He’s been very good, and we understand that he’s older. We get that. There’s a history with Juan. Juan worked with him several years ago in Philadelphia. I knew him when I was there.
“We’re trying to do everything we can to provide protection and (a) great run game. Whatever we need to do, I think that’s the beauty of (general manager) Ryan (Pace) and his guys. They’re looking everywhere at every spot.”
Peters is a likely future Hall of Famer, but he played in only eight games for the Eagles last season, landing on injured reserve with a toe injury that led to surgery. He has missed 20 games over the last four seasons. Peters is unlikely to hold up for 17 games and isn’t joining his third NFL team to be a backup.
“I think he’s coming in here to compete to be the left tackle,” Nagy said. “It’s open, man. It’s competition, and I think he’s going to be competing and understanding it. That’s the beauty — you come on in here and he understands our situation, we understand his situation. Let’s go.”
If nothing else, Peters buys the Bears some time to work through the issues that have accumulated faster than they would have imagined. They are far from the only team sorting through multiple issues on the line. They would love to feel confident in their ability to protect Fields, and protection will need to be even more sturdy for Dalton as long as he’s in the lineup.
“There have been a lot of guys that have been put in a lot of different positions just because of everything that has gone on up front,” Dalton said. “I thought our guys did a great job today — great job in protection, great job in the run game.”
Left tackle is no small matter for any organization to fix, but as the Bears have proved decade after decade, the quarterback position is infinitely more difficult to get right. One preseason game doesn’t predict a career arc, but the Bears are giddy about Fields.
“Everybody here is super excited about the way that he played,” Nagy said. “we all want the same thing. We understand the buzz. We understand the excitement.”
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