How to describe Justin Fields’ preseason debut? Who’s the rookie to watch? 4 key questions facing the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears won their first preseason game over the Tennessee Titans, 23-17.
This week’s training camp brings a trip to Indianapolis for crossover practices with the Colts. There’s a lot to assess, from the first-team offense’s performance to rookies who are turning heads.
See what the Tribune’s writers have called valuable, encouraging and downright unfamiliar.
1. Justin Fields’ preseason debut was ____.
Brad Biggs: A success.
That’s the only way it can be described after the first-team offense put up 14 points in seven snaps. We got a glimpse of two things that should be a bigger part of the offense this season. First, a manufactured touch for wide receiver DJ Moore on his 62-yard touchdown. It was a quick throw, an easy play for Fields to get the ball out of his hands and into the hands of a playmaker. Moore didn’t have to win a route. The protection wasn’t asked to hold up long. Fields didn’t have to make any challenging reads. It’s the kind of play offensive coordinator Luke Getsy will need to emphasize on the call sheet weekly — quick, easy completions to get Moore involved.
Second, a screen pass to running back Khalil Herbert that went for a 56-yard touchdown. The Bears have said Herbert is improved in the passing game — as a blocker first and also as a receiver — and he has gotten a lot of opportunities in training camp. The Bears need to involve the running backs more in the passing game this season. They combined for only 62 targets last season (40 for David Montgomery). Coach Matt Eberflus said the screen game has been a big emphasis in camp. Fields also needs to be more willing to hit running backs on outlets when his primary and secondary reads aren’t there. It’s a super-small sample size, but these could be keys to an improved passing game.
Colleen Kane: Promising.
Fields didn’t have to do a lot to get that 158.3 passer rating — “I didn’t have to do too much work today,” he said postgame — and that’s just fine. Moore and Herbert turned two short Fields passes into 62- and 56-yard touchdowns on the first-team offense’s only two series of the game. Perhaps it was a sign the Bears won’t have to rely almost entirely on Fields’ legs to provide the offensive fireworks in 2023 as they did so often last season. (Though Fields did have to escape two defenders to get the pass off to Herbert.)
Obviously not every play can unfold so easily against defensive starters. Fields is going to have to make tough throws to get this team where they want to go. But for the preseason opener? The Bears should take the shot of excitement that came with those plays and keep building on it.
Dan Wiederer: Productive.
And isn’t that the name of the game? Two drives. Two touchdowns. Sure, for Fields, netting 129 passing yards with three passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage isn’t exactly groundbreaking. But it’s important for the Bears quarterback to receive help and to see how trusting his playmakers can lead the passing offense to the next level of productivity. Now, as always, the key is keeping Saturday’s production in perspective and understanding how much more will be required of Fields when the regular season arrives. Nothing we saw Saturday provided a gauge of where Fields is with his processing speed or his pocket poise. Hopefully, he will be tested in both areas in crossover practices against the Indianapolis Colts this week and in however much action he gets in the final two preseason games. But Saturday’s performance was positive. And positively productive.
2. The crossover practices this week with the Colts are ____.
Biggs: As valuable as a fourth preseason game.
That’s especially true for younger players vying for roster spots with decisions looming at the end of the month. It’s a good deal for both teams because the Bears offense won’t be running the same plays against a defense that has seen them since May and vice versa for the Colts. Wide receivers will go against cornerbacks with slightly different skill sets. Linemen will be challenged similarly. Teams have trended toward finding benefits from these sessions and the Bears attempted to schedule some last summer, but the preseason schedule didn’t match up.
Kane: A nice change of pace.
As training camp gets ready to move into its fourth week, Bears players and coaches clearly are ready to take a break from hitting their teammates and mix it up by going against a new opponent for a couple of days. Some of us reporters like the change of pace too. The practices allow the teams to work on things as they might in a preseason game, but ideally with a lessened risk of injury because it’s in a controlled environment. Bears coach Matt Eberflus said coaches from both teams will meet Tuesday night to map out the practice tempo and make sure they are getting the matchups they want to maximize the benefits of the sessions.
Wiederer: Valuable.
We’ll hear Eberflus and Colts coach Shane Steichen about keeping this week’s practices competitive but not combative. /The value of getting targeted work against a new opponent in a controlled environment is significant. Like the Bears, the Colts are projected for about six or seven victories in 2023. So to a degree, this week’s practice sessions will provide a good measuring stick. One-on-one drills will have added intensity. Eleven-on-eleven action will give both teams a chance to test themselves against unfamiliar looks. In the new age of the NFL, teams have found ways to squeeze meaning out of this crossover work while not subjecting themselves to the risks that preseason games bring. The Bears are eager to make their trek south and should work to get the most out of the journey.
3. The rookie I want to see much more from in the preseason is ____.
Biggs: Gervon Dexter.
He looked a little gassed at times during 35 snaps in the preseason opener against the Titans. He was playing upright, too, and pad level and leverage are things he needs to get a handle on at 6-foot-6. Dexter has excelled in training camp practices but didn’t make the kind of impact a lot of other younger linemen did against the Titans.
Kane: Tyrique Stevenson.
And I say that because I liked what I saw — and what I heard — from Stevenson on Saturday. Stevenson made some splashy plays, breaking up a pass he thought could have been an interception, getting a tackle for a loss and totaling seven tackles in his NFL preseason debut. He wasn’t perfect, but he regrouped from allowing a 30-yard pass on the first play of the game, saying, “I’ve just got to always have that mentality that the next play is the best play and I always live by that.” Stevenson’s play has to be encouraging for the Bears, who could have a really intriguing secondary this year if he and second-year players Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker continue on track with their development.
Wiederer: Roschon Johnson.
Listen, I love what I’ve seen from Stevenson all through training camp and am eager to see him acclimate to a starting role when the regular season arrives. But Johnson is a player who hasn’t really been able to show his full skill set just yet because of the lack of live tackling in organized team activities, minicamp and training camp. On Saturday against the Titans, he turned 12 rushing attempts into 44 yards and showed impressive vision, agility and toughness on a 24-yard run. In a crowded running backs room that includes Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman and Travis Homer, Johnson could quickly ride the escalator to a heightened role if he can fully understand the offensive system and continue to demonstrate his well-rounded abilities.
4. The defense’s eight sacks Saturday were ____.
Biggs: A welcome sight.
The Bears totaled only seven sacks in three preseason games last summer. Statistical production in the preseason never tells the whole story and can be misleading. Trevon Coley led the Bears with three preseason sacks last year but was part of the cuts to form the initial 53-man roster. Starting defensive ends Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker did not play Saturday and the Bears would love to see production from them. But they also want to increase the level of talent throughout the defensive line room and be eight deep with disruptive players.
Rookie tackle Zacch Pickens was active with a sack, four tackles and a fumble recovery, and it was good to see fourth-year end Trevis Gipson total three quarterback hits and a sack as he battles for a reserve spot. Overall, the eight sacks was one of the real bright spots coming out of the game. It also requires some context. The Bears will be better getting after quarterbacks this season. How much better will be determined largely by what Ngakoue and Walker can do while also factoring in the rookies in the middle of the line.
Kane: Encouraging.
I’m not entirely sure how much stock to put in preseason game sack numbers against backup offensive linemen. But it’s certainly not a bad thing for a team that struggled so mightily getting to the quarterback in 2022 to come away with such a stat. And the Bears did it without the two players they signed to boost the pass rush this offseason — Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker. That seven different players got in on the sacks also seems to bode well for the Bears’ depth.
I think that encouragement was tempered a little bit by how easily the Titans scored on their first drive against the first-team defense — and how effective the Titans were at running the ball during that drive. But the Bears were without some defensive starters, so as with all preseason results, we can take the good and bad with a grain of salt.
Wiederer: Unfamiliar.
Get a load of this. During that woeful 10-game losing streak to end last season, the Bears had eight sacks. Total. So to see that same production matched on one afternoon was certainly encouraging. It goes without saying the level of competition the Bears faced Saturday against Titans backups was much lower than what they see during the regular season. But it was promising just to see the effort and intensity translate into production under game speed. The Bears not only had those eight sacks Saturday but added 11 quarterback hits, three forced fumbles and two interceptions. That’s a HITS principle infomercial and provides a little something to build on.
