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Chicago Bears veteran quarterback Andy Dalton left the game with a non-contact injury in the second quarter of the team’s Week 2 contest against his former team, the Cincinnati Bengals. The 33-year-old QB took off on a 14-yard scramble, and appeared to injure himself as he ran out of bounds.
There isn’t a clear video of the play on Twitter, but this is as good as it gets:
After the initial non-contact injury, Dalton returned to the game for one more series — on which he was sacked — and he went to the locker room after that. People watching the live broadcast heard Fox sideline reporter Laura Okmin report live on the air that while he was ruled questionable to return by the team in the second quarter, when he returned to the sidelines after the half, Dalton was telling people on the team’s sideline that he was fine.
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Dalton Remained on Sideline as Rookie QB Justin Fields Took Over
Dalton was downgraded to doubtful in the fourth quarter, but he remained on the sideline for the rest of the game, while rookie QB Justin Fields took over. Bears head coach Matt Nagy revealed why Dalton stuck around in his postgame press conference:
So, it looks like Dalton was able to go back in the game if necessary, but Nagy decided to keep him on the bench as a precautionary measure. Perhaps that’s why the Red Rifle told people he was OK. It’s took early to tell.
Nagy did tell the media after the game that the team was “pretty sure” Dalton did not tear his ACL, which is a good sign. Dalton will undergo an MRI on September 20, and we’ll know more then.
Nagy spoke glowingly about Dalton in his postgame presser, calling the veteran QB tough and crediting him with a solid first drive that led to a touchdown pass to wideout Allen Robinson.
One thing the Bears head coach did not want to do? Discuss who the starter would be even if Dalton were healthy:
We’ll see what happens, but it’s looking like it’s time for Fields to take over the team after two weeks.
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Fields Brought the Good, Bad & Ugly in Relief of Dalton
Dalton finished the game completing 9 of 11 passes for 56 yards and a score. After playing five snaps Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams, Fields took over in the second quarter, and while he struggled at times, he also showed promise, particularly when it came time for him to tuck and run with the ball. Still, the 22-year-old will have to clean plays like this one up:
The rookie QB finished the game going 6-13 for 60 yards and an interception, although he saw both Darnell Mooney and Robinson drop well-placed passes:
We won’t know more until the results of Dalton’s MRI are released — and Nagy’s response if Dalton really is fine will be more than telling.
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