The debates will rage about whether the Chicago Bears should or shouldn’t play Justin Fields, regardless of his health status. One thing is for sure. The man himself doesn’t care. Fields is a competitor and intends to play if he feels his ailing shoulder can handle the stress. He tried to make a go of it last weekend in New York, but warmups didn’t go well. So Trevor Siemian got the start. While he admitted to feeling better on Wednesday, he wasn’t yet sure if he was on track to return against the Green Bay Packers.
Thursday’s injury report might have been the biggest signal yet. Fields practiced in full, going through every drill and even putting in some work after. There is no way he’d be doing that if the shoulder was still too painful to manage. While the decision remains in the hands of head coach Matt Eberflus, everything points to the quarterback making his return at Soldier Field on Sunday. It’s a good thing because he is probably the only prayer they have of winning that game with injuries piling up everywhere else.
Justin Fields has an opportunity for a signature win.
He has yet to beat the Packers in his career, going 0-3 dating back to last season. None of the games have been close too, losing by 10 points or more in each. Everybody, including current Packers players, already assumes the result this time won’t be any different. Aaron Rodgers predicts a “big win.” What makes it worse is nobody thinks they’re wrong. The Bears’ defense is a mess, having allowed 30 or more points in almost every game for two months. Now Darnell Mooney is done for the year with an ankle injury.
Everything points to Green Bay cruising to yet another win. Justin Fields would love nothing better than to ruin their weekend. Forget future draft position or any of that. His only goal is winning football games. It’s doubtful anybody will hate it if he basically crushes the last remaining hopes the Packers have to make the playoffs. For that to happen, he’ll need a big game. It will take at least 30 points to give the Bears a chance. Probably more. The odds are against it, but that would make for a potentially seismic shift in team fortunes over the long term.
