Getty The Chicago Bears are planning to play Justin Fields in the final two games of the 2022 season.
The Chicago Bears are confident that Justin Fields is healthy enough to play in the final two games of the 2022 regular season and have no intentions of shutting him down despite being long removed from the playoff picture at 3-12.
Fields walked away from the Bears’ Christmas Eve loss to the Buffalo Bills with injuries to his shoulder and foot, creating some speculation that Chicago might consider shutting him down for the rest of the season to allow the franchise quarterback to heal for 2023. Head coach Matt Eberflus, however, told reporters on December 26 that Fields is “good to go” and rejected the thought of not allowing him to finish out his second year.
“Absolutely not,” Eberflus said when asked if they had considered shutting down Fields. He then explained his rationale when asked why:
“Because we’ve got to get better. We want to improve. We want to see where we are. These last two games matter. They’re division opponents to us, very important to our football team to see the competition, to see guys compete against our division. I think it’s important for each man, it’s important for each unit and it’s important for our whole football team.”
The Bears will play next on New Year’s Day when they travel to take on the Detroit Lions, who defeated them 31-30 in their first matchup of the season in Week 10. They will then finish their season with a home game against the Minnesota Vikings, who clinched the NFC North in Week 15 with their historic comeback against Indianapolis.
Fields Had Strong Performance vs. Lions in Week 10
The Bears weren’t victorious over the Lions in their first meeting of the season, but Fields caused quite a few problems for Detroit’s defense in what was one of his better performances of the 2022 season. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 167 yards, two touchdowns and one interception and added another 147 yards and two scores on the ground, including a 67-yard touchdown on a designed run that turned heads.
A week after a 61-yard touchdown run against the #Dolphins, Justin Fields runs for a 67-yard touchdown! amazing.
Quick recovery from the pick-6 earlier to re-take the lead.
Now, Fields wasn’t without mistakes in the game. He threw a pick-six to former Ohio State teammate and Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah that allowed the Lions to tie the game at 24-24 early in the fourth quarter. But it was the Bears defense’s inability to stop the Lions in the passing game — giving up 8.7 yards per passing attempt — that ultimately led to Chicago’s downfall in the one-point divisional loss.
The Bears might not be able to count on their defense to play better in the second matchup considering numerous starters — including Eddie Jackson, Jaylon Johnson and Jack Sanborn — won’t be on the field, but Fields could be looking for a bounce-back performance after mostly being held in check on the ground against the Bills. Fields ran for a season-low 11 rushing yards in the 35-13 loss to Buffalo on Saturday.
Will Fields & Claypool Get to Build More Chemistry?
If the Bears are hoping to get the most of out their final two games in 2022, they will have to keep their fingers crossed that wide receiver Chase Claypool will be healthy enough to return to the lineup for the final stretch. The former Pittsburgh Steeler has missed two consecutive games with a knee injury and is said to still be trying to learn the Bears’ offensive scheme despite playing five games prior to getting hurt in Week 13.
It will most likely take until 2023 to determine if the Bears’ decision to trade a second-rounder for Claypool was worth it, but any additional game reps he can get with Fields prior to the offseason will be valuable to his long-term development with the team. So far, he has only caught 12 passes for 111 yards and no touchdowns over his five games with Chicago, but Pittsburgh saw him securing 121 receptions for 1,733 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first two years in the league, proving the playmaking potential is there.
Now, it is up to Eberflus, Luke Getsy and the rest of the Bears’ offensive coaching staff to help Claypool reach his ceiling.