Young Bears Justin Fields, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Teven Jenkins emerging

Bears quarterback Justin Fields had one of his best games this season on the road against the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick before a national audience, but he’s not looking at the big picture.

To quote the coach he just faced and beat, Fields is on to the Dallas Cowboys.

“(It’s) definitely momentum,” Fields told reporters after the Bears’ 33-14 victory late Monday night at Gillette Stadium. “But again, we can’t get too high on the win. We’ve got to get reset Wednesday and come in and prepare like any other week, prepare like last week. I know our guys aren’t going to be satisfied with just this win, and we’re going to get back to work this week.”

Fields may not know this, but when it comes to his career starts, he’s finally on to his second season. The Bears’ victory against the Patriots came in his 17th start.

This week’s five takeaways column begins there.

17, 18, 19 and counting

In an ideal world, Fields can find and follow the paths that Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts took to become high-end starters by their third seasons, and the Bears can do the same by improving the roster around their young quarterback.

That said, here is a look at Fields’ first 17 starts compared to what Allen and Hurts did, according to Pro Football Reference.

All three situations are different. Fields has dealt with significant changes, from different offensive schemes and play callers to going from a team that had a win-now roster under general manager Ryan Pace to one that’s being rebuilt under Ryan Poles.

Fields’ sack numbers look worrisome compared to Allen and Hurts. But we went over that in last week’s takeaways column. If you listened to Troy Aikman and to Peyton and Eli Manning on Monday night, you should know that Fields needs to get the ball out quicker on some plays and throw the ball away to avoid sacks on others.

But the difference in running numbers also catches the eye with Hurts. Fields is playing catch-up.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy started to change that against the Patriots by turning to more designed runs for Fields. It was more than run-pass options. It was a varied ground game attack (sweeps, counters and draws) for Fields.

The Bills and Eagles do the same with Allen and Hurts. If it remains part of the Bears’ offensive package — and it should — Fields’ pass attempts should increase because the offense has the potential to be on the field more.

A little Justin Fields magic ? @justnfields

?: #CHIvsNE on ESPN
?: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/2HQeNdaFPc pic.twitter.com/PTtzgrxNeu

— NFL (@NFL) October 25, 2022

Off and running

Fields had 11 designed runs against New England. According to Pro Football Focus, it more than doubled his previous career high of five. And, according to Pro Football Reference, it was different than what transpired the previous week when Fields had a season-high 10 scrambles against Washington.

“I thought it brought a whole different element to our offense,” Fields said. “I think we executed that well. And there were definitely some explosive plays in the designed runs.”

How much and how long the Bears feature depends on Fields’ health.

But if there’s one thing that shouldn’t be questioned about Fields, it’s his toughness. He can handle contacts. His awareness also seems to be improving. He excelled at avoiding significant contact against the Patriots, either getting down quickly, sliding or running out of bounds. On his 20-yard scramble, Fields ran for the sideline instead of directly upfield.

Fields said after the game that he was thinking about avoiding “big hits,” knowing what Getsy’s game plan entailed Monday night. He still needs to get the ball out quicker and avoid some sacks. But the Bears’ coaching and messaging is showing when he runs with the ball.

“You want to make sure that you’re doing it the right way,” coach Matt Eberflus said Tuesday. “He has to know when to do things the right way in terms of when to slide, when to get out of bounds and all those things. Then he has the unscripted plays where on third down he drops back and will take off for a first down, or even on first down to do that. I think it’s very hard to defend. I’ve tried to defend those guys over the years, and it’s very difficult. We just have to do it the right way — and we’ve got to be creative with how we do it. So we’re going to do that.”

The benefits of keeping designed runs in the offense outweigh the risks. Fields can physically and mentally handle it much like Allen and Hurts do.

Getting into a rhythm

Belichick wasn’t surprised that the Bears ran the ball with Fields. He indicated that his team anticipated it.

“We knew what his ability was,” Belichick said after the game. “Once a couple of those started hitting early in the game, then we could see that’s the way the game was going to go. So, yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise. Once it was declared, then we were definitely playing for it. We didn’t do a great job defending it, but, yeah.”

It helped that Getsy had a counter for every punch Belichick threw, whether it was using speedster Velus Jones Jr. as a decoy or calling the perfect screen for an all-out blitz by the Patriots defense.

Getsy found a rhythm with his calls, his best yet as the Bears’ play caller. He’s learning on the job, much like Fields is. The mini bye week appeared to help him adjust.

“It was good,” Eberflus said of Getsy’s play calling. “The mix and match of the in-pocket, out-of-pocket, the different protections we were using to really focus on the strengths of our football team and our offensive unit, I thought was excellent. He really did a nice job of keeping things off balance for the opponent and it was good, it was good.”

It won’t always look that way. The Cowboys will challenge the Bears with pass rusher Micah Parsons, a true game-wrecker. But Getsy’s offense has produced 391 and 390 total yards of offense in consecutive weeks against two proven defensive minds, Belichick and Ron Rivera. The difference was that Fields and the offense executed better in the red zone against the Patriots.

No more second-guessing

Monday night was the Bears’ first live look at a receiver drafted in the second round after their own selections of cornerback Kyler Gordon (No. 39) and safety Jaquan Brisker (No. 48).

The Patriots selected receiver Tyquan Thornton at No. 50, two picks after Brisker. He played 85 percent of New England’s offensive snaps. He was targeted five times in 44 snaps, making one catch for 19 yards in the final four minutes on third-and-1 from the Patriots’ 23.

Brisker and Gordon each matched Thornton’s receptions total with their interceptions. Gordon stepped in front of Thornton’s route for his pick against quarterback Bailey Zappe, whose throw was slightly behind the receiver.

Poles told reporters before the game that he doesn’t second-guess his offseason decision-making. Seven games into the rookie seasons of Gordon and Brisker, the Bears appear to have two stalwarts for their secondary. And the rookies look better every week.

Their interceptions on “Monday Night Football” weren’t gimmies.

What a grab by @JaquanBrisker! ?

?: #CHIvsNE on ESPN pic.twitter.com/5pvbjijn97

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 25, 2022

“It’s staying the course,” Eberflus said. “We’ve said it before with ups and downs, ins and outs, and those guys have had that. But if you keep your eyes forward and focus on detail and focus on improving every week, you will see a better product. Are there going to be some more adversities coming up? Sure. That’s the way life is, that’s the way football is. But if you keep yourself in a positive mindset, say, ‘How can I get better? How can I improve? And I’ve got a partner right here in my coach that’s going to help me do that.’ Then you’ll see improved play during the course of the year.”

The Bears are seeing that from Gordon and Brisker.

It’s still early in all of their respective careers — and Thornton missed time with a broken collarbone — but the Patriots’ decision to draft Thornton over George Pickens (Steelers) or Alec Pierce (Colts) deserves more scrutiny than the Bears’ selections of Gordon and Brisker.

Right (guard) at home

The Bears’ best offensive lineman is right guard Teven Jenkins. He allowed only one pressure Monday night, according to TruMedia, which tracks Pro Football Focus’ data. He has yet to allow a sack this season. And he’s nasty.

Jenkins’ film is filling up with defenders on the ground. One came on Fields’ interception against the Patriots. Defensive end Matthew Judon jumped to deflect the pass, which produced the turnover.

And Jenkins made him pay for it. Judon was engaged with left tackle Larry Borom, but when he jumped, Jenkins came over and drove him to the ground.

It’s a message sent to those defenders who jump to bat passes.

It’s on film. But so are other hits, pancakes and blocks where Jenkins rides his defender out of the screen.

Another example came during Fields’ 20-yard scramble. Jenkins first helped center Sam Mustipher before sliding to his right to help Borom. He sent Judon down to the turf again.

This is not a recent trend, either. He sent 49ers pass rusher Nick Bosa to the ground in Week 1.

There are highlights from every game to get excited about when it comes to Jenkins’ development at right guard. The Bears appear to have something in Jenkins.

(Top photo of Justin Fields: Fred Kfoury III / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)