CHICAGO – Just hours before the Carolina Panthers officially handed the Bears the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, quarterback Justin Fields dropped a pass in the second quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field and had everyone holding their breath.
Falcons linebacker Bud Dupree came free from the right side and brought Fields to the ground in what would have been a drive-ending sack on third-and-8. Fields stepped forward and shook off Dupree. As he tried to escape the pocket, defensive tackle David Onyemate grabbed his leg. Fields somehow broke free and raced past Calais Campbell to turn a drive-killer into a 13-yard gain.
The play brought out safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker, both of whom sent Fields into a frenzy as he scampered out of bounds for the win.
“The Wizard. You're a wizard! Those are my exact words to him,” Jackson said after the Bears' stunning 37-17 win at Soldier Field. “Bro, you're a wizard. You're a wizard, bro. That is your new name. It's crazy.”
On a day of making the difficult offseason decision that awaits Bears general manager Ryan Poles, Fields authored one of his most complete plays in a performance that ended with Bears fans chanting “We Want Justin!” as the clock ran out.
“I want Justin. We all want Justin. Let’s go!” Brisker said in the locker room after the win. “That's our guy.” This guy definitely makes plays and he's a leader. We like a guy like that. He gives everything he can. He broke five tackles. I don't even know, man. He's definitely great. You can’t miss a guy like that.”
Fields opened his day with a 32-yard score to DJ Moore down the right sideline. He punctuated the Bears' opening drive by throwing a frozen rope to Moore in the back corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown.
It was the start of a performance that perfectly encapsulated everything Fields can do when he puts it all together.
Fields' first half on Sunday was arguably the second-best half of football he's ever played in a Bears uniform, trailing only the first half against the Broncos, where he had just one incompletion on a Hail Mary attempt .
Fields finished the game 20-for-32 for 268 yards and a touchdown while adding 45 yards and a score on the ground. It wasn't perfect. There were a few missed shots and some late trigger pulls. That will happen.
But all in all, Fields was at his best on a day in which the Bears secured the right to name his replacement — should they deem it necessary.
“You gotta appreciate him, man,” Jackson said of Fields. “All the things he does, the things he’s been through, all the talk about him. He blocked it out and went out here to blow and lead this team. You have to take your hat off to a guy like that. “He has shown true resilience.” He is a true leader. He just comes here every week, denies what everyone says and just proves them wrong.”
After the win, teammates waded through a locker room where celebratory cigar smoke still hung in the air to give Fields his props.
“Houdini!” Kyler Gordon yelled as he hugged the quarterback at his locker.
“The Wizard. That was crazy, bro.” DeMarcus Walker said with a big smile as he walked past Fields to the locker.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy came over and congratulated Fields, shaking his head at the performance.
This run in the third and eighth periods, a game that was largely meaningless, could determine the monumental decision before the Poles and the Bears.
“I've said it before, I'll say it again – what makes him not a quarterback?” DJ Moore said after the win. “I mean, today the Houdini file should have put the nail in the mouth [coffin] …he is “He”. He will be the quarterback. I want him to be the quarterback. I said what I said, now it's in the higher register. It's up to you.”
Fields has always had the flashes. The passing consistency has improved over the last month, while the incredible playmaking flashes have remained.
With Moore, a healthy Cole Kmet and another good wide receiver, Fields, who played against the Falcons on Sunday, is a quarterback who is difficult to plan for and even harder to stop when things are going well.
Fields has continued to improve. It wasn't linear. There is never any progress. But there's something special when Fields puts all the pieces together, as he did Sunday in a statement performance highlighted by a play that few — perhaps just one — can pull off.
“He is dynamic. “Very dynamic,” Montez Sweat said. “He makes plays like Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes, but those guys don't overdo it like they would other quarterbacks, bro.” But he's no one's guy. I’m glad he’s on my side.”
Fields “lived in the present” and did not focus on the uncertain future that awaited him. He's not one to argue why he should be the Bears' franchise quarterback going forward.
Last week, Fields was asked what he showed the Bears this season. He refused to take part in the exercise.
“Improvement,” Fields said. “You know it. You know it. Everyone knows who I am in the building. Like I said, I can control what I can control and that’s all.”
But while he's spent all season living in the present and not worrying about tomorrow, Fields took a moment Sunday to dive into what could be his final start as the Bears' starting quarterback at Soldier Field. He will remember the snow. He will remember playing in Georgia against the team he cheered for as a kid. He will remember the fans chanting for him as the clock ticked down.
“I will definitely remember this game for the rest of my life,” Fields said after the win.
While his future is uncertain, there is hope in the Bears' locker room that Sunday's win was the beginning of something rather than the final chapter.
“I heard those chants,” Moore said after the win. “I know their boxes [front office, ownership] are right there, so I know they heard that too.
The Bears are building something. A season that started 0-4 and belonged in the dumpster deep inside the Earth is now a positive step forward for a team whose arrow is pointing straight up.
Fields, his growth, potential and dynamic abilities are considered important pieces to the momentum the Bears have created in 2024.
“I really think he's the only one who can do it in this league,” tight end Cole Kmet said of Fields' magical feat. “I think that’s what fascinates him. It’s really special to watch him do that.”
“He makes crazy plays,” Brisker said. “I told him that's Houdini.” He's a dog. He is a dog. He is different. You'll never see anyone make plays like that.
“He's a dog. Really stop playing with him.”
On a day that was all about how bright the future is in Chicago, the one play that might not belong made a statement performance, leaving the lakefront reverberating with chants that captured the emotions in a locker room he led summarize perfectly.
For at least one more game.
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