Getty Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears got his first career win against the Lions.
Taylor Gabriel is waxing wistful on Twitter, and it’s because of Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields.
The former NFL wide receiver, who played in the league from 2014-19, spent his final two seasons in the Windy City, catching passes from Mitch Trubisky and, on occasion, Chase Daniel. Considering that, it’s not really a surprise that Gabriel, who also played for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons, wouldn’t mind catching a few bombs courtesy of the Bears’ rookie signal-caller.
Fields didn’t throw a touchdown in the Bears’ 24-14 Week 4 win over the Detroit Lions, but he threw enough impressive long balls to make Gabriel tweet this during the game:
@ChicagoBears please let that man start the rest of year are we seeing these throws down field lawd made me want to put my cleats on
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Fields & Bears Offense Rebounded in Big Way Against Lions
After a wretched performance that saw Chicago gain just one net yard on offense Week 3, the team took advantage of a porous Lions defense. Prior to playing Detroit, the Bears had gotten just one explosive play of 20+ yards through three games this season. Fields and company managed five plays of 20 or more yards against the Lions, including this 64-yard gem to second-year wide receiver Darnell Mooney:
And this one to Allen Robinson:
After completing 6 of 20 passes for 68 yards in his debut last week, Fields went 11-17 for 209 yards and an interception in the team’s win over the Lions, and he displayed the kind of pinpoint accuracy the Bears were hoping to get when they drafted him with the 11th overall pick.
“That wasn’t us last week,” Fields said about the Bears’ Week 3 showing. “That was one of the worst performances almost in Bears history, so that’s not how we play. I was just happy to see us get back on track this week and execute, from the o-line to the receivers to the running backs to me.”
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Gabriel’s Response to Fields is Telling
Gabriel, who played 25 games for the Bears from 2018-19, starting 18, caught 96 passes for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns in his tenure in Chicago, and despite retiring in April of this year, he still follows his former team. It’s telling that he didn’t just give Fields’ big arm a shout-out — he also encouraged the Bears to keep starting Fields over veteran Andy Dalton, which he doubled down on again later:
Whether that happens is anyone’s guess, although head coach Matt Nagy has said Dalton will be the guy when he’s fully healthy. Fields will benefit from all the snaps he can get, and he clearly brings a big play element Dalton does not, but Nagy seems set on having Dalton start.
“As an offense as a whole, we were just trying to get better and play better, not only for the offense but for our defense,” Fields said after the Week 4 victory. “Because our defense usually balls out about every game. So we didn’t want to put those guys out on the field and get those guys tired. I thought we all played well today and we’re just going to keep getting better.”
Will the Bears keep getting better with Dalton under center, though? That’s doubtful. We’ll see what happens. Dalton is currently still week-to-week with his knee injury, but if Fields gets another opportunity and balls out again, it’s going to be increasingly difficult for Nagy not to stick with the rookie.
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