Bears’ Justin Fields can’t run at the expense of throwing downfield

We know Justin Fields can run. But the Bears quarterback absolutely has to pass if his offense is going to crawl out of the primordial soup of the first four games.

There’s no doubting Fields’ athleticism when he scrambles. When he does so at the expense of throwing to wide-open receivers, though, it undermines both the Bears’ offense and his career. Just ask Mitch Trubisky.

On third-and-10 at the Giants’ 35 in the second quarter Sunday, the Bears sent four receivers on vertical routes against a Cover-2 defense.

Receiver Darnell Mooney, lined up in the left slot, sprung wide open — but he ran the wrong route. Mooney confused the play, which was called “special,” with a similar Matt Nagy concept from last year that happened to have the exact same name.

In this year’s version, Mooney needed to bend the route toward the right hash, and didn’t.

“That’s where he was looking for me,” Mooney said.

Mooney might have ran the wrong route, but he was wide open down the middle of the field. Fields looked downfield but then did what he was taught to do against Cover-2 on that play.

“On that coverage, [I’m] most likely thinking one-on-one with the [running] back [and] check down — and, of course, I’m scrambling,” Fields said Wednesday. “I was just doing what I was told.”

Fields looked to check the ball down to Khalil Herbert, who was covered out of the backfield running right to left. The quarterback then tucked the ball and ran right for 12 yards and a first down.

“There was a wide-open lane on third ... ” Fields said. “So I’m going to go get the first down.”

There are first downs, and then there’s progress. Fields sacrificed one for the other. In the long term, that’s a loss for both the Bears and their quarterback.

The world already knows that Fields possesses unique speed and a feel for scrambling. There’s no evidence yet that his passing skills are anywhere near as refined.

Earlier this week, coach Matt Eberflus called the four verticals call a “basic” play.

“He certainly had time and could’ve rode the pocket a little bit more,” Eberflus said. “But he decided to take it — because what we were telling him is to take the checkdown, or run on that, when they’re in that defense.”

That doesn’t mean Fields shouldn’t have thrown the ball to a wide-open receiver down the field, Eberflus said. Eberflus’ contradictory statement comes down to this: Fields has to play quarterback when opportunities arise.

Fields should have had the field vision to see Mooney running wide open — regardless of the route — and thrown with confidence. He can’t rely on scrambling when there’s a bigger gain to be made through the air.

“Get your eyes downfield and see what you see and take what they give you,” Eberflus said. “Certainly have to do that, for sure.”

Instead, Fields ran, the way he has most of the season.

“You’re back there on a clock and you know when the timing and the rhythm is of that particular pass play,” Eberflus said. “And then when it’s not there, he just uses his legs if he has it. And he’s done that good. He’s done that really well.”

Eberflus is missing the point. Fields has 34 carries this season, more than any quarterback not named Lamar Jackson. Combine that with the hits he has taken on dropbacks — Fields has been sacked 16 times, one off Carson Wentz’s NFL lead — and Fields’ running becomes that much more unsustainable.

Fields, though, is playing for the first down.

“If it’s a certain play and guys aren’t there,” Fields said, “of course I’m going to have to get out of the pocket.”

It’s a shame, when more can be gained.

“You’re not gonna make the perfect decision every time,” Fields said. “You’ve just gotta live with that and move on to the next play.”