Bears QB Justin Fields battered — but better — in loss to Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Bears had just failed on a ridiculous trick play in the second quarter Sunday — a double pass featuring an illegal forward throw — when a Halloween-worthy nightmare began to unravel on the sideline.

Quarterback Justin Fields, who has crept closer to being the centerpiece of the Bears’ identity with each passing week, was in the blue injury tent.

The tent, though, came down quickly.

Fields said after the game that he had bruised his hip 5½ days ago against the Patriots. A sack one play before the trickery made that spot hurt again.

“I just took some Advil,” he said, “and hopped back in the game.”

After playing two games in 5½ days, Fields needed a pain reliever. He spent most of the Bears’ 49-29 loss to the Cowboys trying to fight his team back into contention — the Bears’ defense gave up four touchdowns on Dallas’ first four drives — yet was surprisingly efficient in the process. He finished with a career-best 120 passer rating, completing 17 of 23 passes for 151 yards, and ran eight times for 60 yards. Fields, who entered the game with five touchdown passes all season, threw two against the Cowboys.

The Bears still have question marks that span from their suddenly porous defense to questionably conservative offensive play calls to a roster that’s obviously outclassed against the above-average teams they play. But Fields, in less than a week, has begun answering some of the most pressing questions.

On Monday, the Bears scored 33 points against a Patriots team that had allowed 18.8 per game. And they hung 29 on a Cowboys defense that had been giving up 14.8.

“I think the guys are starting to really jell,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “You can see that we implemented some things that are really enhancing the skill levels of our players. I think it’s starting to open up some things for us.”

That’s a successful week for Fields, even if this outcome was ugly. In the last six days — since the Bears re-evaluated their offense during their mini-bye — Fields has completed 30 of 44 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns with one interception for a 103.4 passer rating.

Some quarterbacks can pull off that box score in one game, not two — the Chargers’ Justin Herbert had something similar in Week 2 alone — but Fields adds an element few can. In the last two games, he has run 22 times for 142 yards (6.5 yards per carry).

Fields wasn’t used as often on designed runs as he was six days earlier. But he’s an essential part of the league’s best rushing offense.

He has gained 40 or more yards on the ground in six consecutive games. In the last five years, two other quarterbacks have been able to say the same: the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts.

Fields seemed more deliberate in his runs against the Cowboys. He said there was only one he wanted back: a 15-yard scramble in the first quarter, his longest of the game. He was tempted to run out of bounds on the left sideline but instead cut upfield and was hammered by Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse.

“He’s gotta stop taking hits,” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said. “I love him. He’s a tough guy. But I don’t need him to be a tough guy. Just get out of bounds or something.”

Fields said he “couldn’t run 100%” because his legs were sore after the win against the Patriots. He was sacked four times, matching the total he took against New England. Fields faced the 6-2 Cowboys — who entered the game with the most sacks in the NFL — behind an offensive line that didn’t have a single presumed starter from Day 1 of training camp.

“He’s awesome,” said right tackle Riley Reiff, who made his first start of the season. “Never wavers. Tough as hell. Got a lot of respect for him, man. He’s only gonna get better, too.”

The ugliest hit came when the Bears were closest to the lead. They trailed 28-23, having rattled off 16 straight points on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Fields to N’Keal Harry in the second quarter, a 36-yard field goal by Cairo Santos at the end of the first half and a 12-yard run by Khalil Herbert in the third quarter.

After Herbert’s touchdown, the Bears tried a two-point conversion. Fields took the snap out of the shotgun, looked left and was planted into the ground by DeMarcus Lawrence. Fields never saw the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end— and neither did any Bears blocker. He was supposed to hand the ball off on a read-option up the middle but didn’t.

“You want to make sure your guy’s not in harm’s way,” Eberflus said. “But we’ve just got to make a good decision there.”

A week ago, the Bears’ offense looked lost. Now it seems to have an identity: Fields popping some Advil and getting back to work.

“[We’re] not complete yet,” Mooney said. “More complete? I would say progress.

“We did better than we did at the beginning of the season. We knew that it’s gonna take some time to get everybody on the same page.”