Bears, Fields aim for more solid play in closing minutes vs. Vikings
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 15: Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears looks on during the second quarter in the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on October 15, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
CHICAGO - For Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears, Monday night's game at Minnesota will be all about second chances.
Fields gets another opportunity against a Vikings defense that knocked him out of the teams' last matchup with a dislocated right thumb, and the Bears get a chance to prove they can close out games better than they did at Detroit on Sunday.
The Lions scored 17 points over the last four minutes to win 31-26, spoiling an otherwise encouraging return by Fields, who had missed four games with the thumb injury.
"I think for the most part we showed who we were except until the end of the game," Fields said. "Focus on finishing better and finishing out the game when it counts and when a drive comes up, making that big play when it matters."
Fields has struggled in close, late-game situations throughout his three seasons.
Fields was 16 of 23 for 169 yards and had 104 yards rushing against the Vikings. He had a chance Sunday even after the Bears' defense let a 26-14 lead disintegrate. But Aidan Hutchinson strip-sacked FIelds in the last half-minute, and the ball went out of the end zone for a safety to clinch it for Detroit.
In 34 games, Fields has one fourth-quarter comeback and two game-winning drives. He knows he needs to do more to close out victories.
"There's lot of things that I can name off, but just doing my job and doing it the best I can when it matters," he said.
It applies to more than Fields. The defense made bigger mistakes than he did in the closing minutes against the Lions.
"We're playing - we're doing a lot of good things in a lot of areas of the football game," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said.
It hasn't been good enough for Eberflus' team, which is 3-8.
"The guys see that and feel that and you can see that in our games," Eberflus said. "We're having leads on people, and a lot of it is about finishing. The finish part. Well, what is that in the NFL? That's about two-minute offense, two-minute defense, four-minute offense and four-minute defense.
"You have to do a really good job with that. That's where we have to improve as a football team. Not just Justin. It's us as a group. That's where I think we take the next step to finishing games and, of course, we've done that in some other games, but again we got to do that versus quality opponents."
Minnesota (6-5) will certainly present a challenge. Fields had only 60 yards passing and four sacks against the Vikings in 2 1/2 quarters of play before he was injured.
The Bears will need to do a better job against Vikings edge rusher Danielle Hunter, who was involved in the play when Fields got hurt and is second in the NFL with 12 sacks.
"He's a freak athlete on the edge," Fields said. "He's been doing his thing this year. He's been balling out this year. Definitely got to have a plan for him and just making sure we know where he is at all times."
Hunter had two sacks and two quarterback hits against the Bears. Fields' replacement, Tyson Bagent, gave up the ball on a sack and Jordan Hicks returned it 42 yards for the decisive touchdown.
To Eberflus, the key for the Bears is handling Vikings coordinator Brian Flores' blitz-heavy scheme.
"He does a good job of mixing up the coverages for the spots that are open on the field, and that creates a lot of pressure for every offense," Eberlfus said. "You could certainly feel that when watching the games and watching the (video) cut-ups. But our guys have played them before, so I think our guys will have a good understanding of where we're going to attack and how we're going to operate to win this game."