8 October 2023
Wow. Just wow. Whatever that was the Chicago Bears were feeling late Thursday night, quarterback Justin Fields didn’t want the sensation to recede. Fields tried to describe the mood in the Bears locker room at Fed Ex Field, that intoxicating mix of satisfaction, joy, relief, unity and adrenaline.
“It just felt good,” Fields said, “seeing all the hard work pay off. Especially getting a (win) after everything that has happened this year.”
Fields knew he wanted those vibes to be everlasting. He wanted to stay moonwalking on that cloud with that ear-to-ear grin and the exhilaration pumping in sync with the music.
“It’s a feeling you never want to end,” he said.
This is what Thursday night’s emphatic 40-20 thumping of the Washington Commanders delivered for the Bears, what the end of an 11-month, 14-game losing streak ushered in. Exultation. Fulfillment. Pride. It was all to be grabbed and appreciated, all to be carried forward.
There was an unmistakable feeling of hope for the Bears. And in the moment, it was causing Fields’ heart to explode with gratitude.
“It just feels good when you can say the hard work paid off,” he reiterated. “I am proud of everybody in the building. I love everybody on my team. Players. Coaches. Shoot, everybody upstairs. I might not even know ‘em. But I love you all.”
On the way out of Washington on Thursday night, Fields and the Bears had 10 days to carry that positive energy forward, 10 days until their next test, 10 days to squeeze every last drop of enjoyment out of the 451 yards the offense put up and the five sacks and two takeaways the defense provided.
“This feels so good, man,” said cornerback Greg Stroman Jr., who had a second-quarter interception and a third-quarter sack of Commanders quarterback Sam Howell. “It’s an amazing thing to get that win. Now we have to stay here. Just stay here in this moment with this feeling and take it onto the next game. Keep doing all the good things we do and remember how to finish.”
‘This feels good’
It will take time to get a true big-picture interpretation of what the victory really meant. Don’t forget, the Bears’ previous win — by three scores, on the road, on a brightly lit prime-time stage — also carried similar excitement and felt like an arrival of its own. In Week 7 last season, the Bears walked out of Gillette Stadium with a 33-14 “Monday Night Football” thumping of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots with confidence that the complete three-phase performance signified a breakthrough.
“This feels good,” Fields said after that win. “Everybody’s excited. I’m just proud of the way our guys came out and started the game and, of course, how we finished.”
Then, somehow, none of it really translated. The Bears lost the final 10 games of the season and their first four this year.
So, yes, this group’s ability to stay focused and consistent will be challenged over the next few months.
Still, after an embarrassing, blunder-filled September, the first five days of October have given the Bears justifiable belief that they can continue surging. Start first with the upcoming schedule. Week 6 at home against the Minnesota Vikings. Week 7 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders. A Week 8 trip to Los Angeles to face the Chargers. Week 9 in New Orleans. A visit from the Carolina Panthers in a short week in Week 10.
A license to think big has returned to Chicago.
There are few reasons to believe the Bears can’t rise up and win three of those games, right? Maybe four? With the way the offense is playing now, the progress feels real. What a groove Fields and Co. have found all of a sudden, racking up 922 total yards and 68 points over a five-day span.
After scoring five touchdowns over 32 possessions in the first three games, the Bears have scored eight TDs the last two outings.
Fields, meanwhile, has started October on fire with a .672 completion percentage plus 617 passing yards and eight touchdown passes in games against the Broncos and Commanders. That sent him into this weekend in a tie with Kirk Cousins for the NFL lead in TD passes.
In September, Fields completed only 58% of his passes, averaging 175 passing yards and one touchdown per game.
Plus, it’s not just the production. It’s the way Fields is passing the eye test with his movement and vision, with the decisiveness of his throws into tight spaces, with his ability to display command and make plays in so many different ways.
“You can tell Justin is seeing things well out there,” said tight end Cole Kmet, who caught a 4-yard touchdown pass Thursday. “I think he’s confident with the scheme in place and the things we’re doing with the run and the pass. He is making all the right checks. And he’s in sync with the guys he’s throwing to.”
Added Bears coach Matt Eberflus: “You can just see the confidence. When you have growth in your profession … you can just feel it. And you can feel it in the guys around him, the comfort level and the confidence that they’re having, the chemistry they’re having.”
It doesn’t hurt that the offensive line seems to be solidifying with guard Nate Davis back rolling and Teven Jenkins handling 37 snaps in his Thursday night return from injured reserve.
There has also, seemingly, been an offensive identity crystallizing with coordinator Luke Getsy working in more designed quarterback runs, play-action passes and pocket-moving concepts for Fields to take advantage of.
And of course, yes, there has been DJ Moore, who exploded for 230 receiving yards and three touchdowns Thursday and is on pace to set single-season franchise records in both categories. Man, was Moore’s presence felt Thursday, with big play after big play, touchdown after touchdown after touchdown.
“Any time we can get him the ball, let’s get him the ball,” Fields said. “One, he’s a great receiver. We all know that. But two, with the football in his hands, he’s able to make guys miss.”
Momentum surge
When the high from Thursday’s win begins to fade, the Bears will return to center and continue their grounded grind with an understanding of how steep their climb remains and how little one victory will mean if they don’t build on it.
This is Chicago and these are the Bears. Which makes it paramount that perspective remains part of the conversation.
Consistency is the hallmark of good NFL teams. And the Bears will have to stay nimble enough to adapt to how opponents might begin adapting to them. Offensively the evolution must remain continuous, and Fields’ progress can’t have many dips of regression.
“It’s just stacking games like he has had the last two,” Eberflus said. “Just keep stacking them up. That’s what he wants to see and what we want to see.”
On defense, meanwhile, the Bears must find ways to make game-changing contributions a regular occurrence. That’s why Stroman’s interception late in the first half Thursday proved so pivotal. It came immediately after the Bears built their lead to 20-3 on a 36-yard Cairo Santos field goal. Stroman then set the offense up with possession at the Commanders 36, picking off a pass over the middle to Curtis Samuel and the Bears quickly converted that into a six-play touchdown drive.
“Coach always talks about complementary football,” Stroman said. “That was one of those moments.”
In the third quarter, rookie cornerback Terell Smith did his part, too, ripping the ball from Commanders tight end Logan Thomas as he tried to churn out more yardage from a short completion.
The Bears also found several moments of good fortune Thursday, those positive twists of fate that seemed so fleeting during their 14-game losing streak.
A wild shotgun snap from Cody Whitehair in the third quarter? No problem. Fields used his athleticism to get his fingertips on the ball, then gathered the deflection and turned it into an 8-yard scramble and a first down.
With the Commanders threatening to rally in the fourth? A 41-yard pass-interference flag against rookie Tyrique Stevenson was picked up by the officials. Instead of having first-and-10 from the Bears 13 with a chance to close within 30-27, the Commanders had to reset. Four plays later, running back Antonio Gibson dropped a third-down pass, and kicker Joey Slye then pushed a 46-yard field-goal attempt wide right.
Instead of feeling the pressure of suddenly being in a one-score game, the Bears retained a double-digit lead, then pushed it to three scores when Fields hit Moore for the win-sealing 56-yard touchdown pass on third-and-2 with 4:18 remaining.
Even that play seemed dicey for a second with Kendall Fuller breaking on Fields’ pass and looking like he might have a chance to intercept it. Instead, Moore took it the opposite direction for six points.
“Sometimes it just happens that way,” Eberflus said. “But you create your own luck with how you work and how you prepare. And if you put your playmakers in position to make those plays in certain situations, they make them.”
That’s part of the reason the Bears locker room became a dance party late Thursday night. That’s why the team’s starting quarterback was describing the excitement of the whole team and the love he had for everybody.
That kind of elation was much needed. And long overdue.
“I’m proud of the guys for the game that they had,” Eberflus said. “Again, this is momentum. We have to build upon this.”
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