Lack of passing leaves Justin Fields battered as a runner

The Texans forced Bears quarterback Justin Fields to scramble to his right on third-and-eight halfway through the fourth quarter Sunday. Fields was at a full sprint, looking down the right sideline toward receiver Darnell Mooney, when he remembered the illegal forward pass penalty he took against the Packers.

“I was taking myself back to last week,” he said.

Fields slowed down before he could get to the sticks. He debated throwing, then tucked the ball in the crook of his right elbow and ran up the sideline. He stepped out of bounds with his right foot for a loss of one — but was tackled anyway by Texans linebacker Blake Cashman.

Fields writhed on the ground in pain, went to the injury tent and eventually returned.

“I should have just ran out of bounds,” he said.

Fields has played only three games under new play-caller Luke Getsy, but he has run the ball so often that he already has mental scar tissue with which to contend. Consider it one of the many downsides to the Bears — Fields, Getsy, coach Matt Eberflus and everyone else — not figuring out how to successfully throw a forward pass.

The Bears have been left to put the ball in Fields’ hands and, by plan or circumstance, have him run. Fields has 27 carries, as many as Lions running back D’Andre Swift and one more than the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson, one of the most outstanding, and durable, running quarterbacks of all time. Through three games, Fields has run more than half as many times as the entire Raiders team.

That doesn’t count the hits he has taken over the course of 10 sacks.

That’s not sustainable — for the Bears’ offense or for Fields’ body.

“You always worry when he’s running the ball — but he’s a tough dude and he’s a big guy,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “So he handles it well.”

He shouldn’t have to. The Bears can’t keep letting Fields get hit so often.

“We think he’s really smart in the open field, knows when to slide and get down,” Eberflus said. “Obviously, he’s taken a couple [illegal] hits that were flagged. But he’s really good at that. He’s got great instincts that way.”

The Bears need to use them — but to a point. The only thing worse than the Bears’ passing game being trapped in the 1920s would be Fields not being healthy enough to try to make it better. Just ask the 49ers, who will enter the third season of the Trey Lance era next season with no idea if he’s the future of their franchise.

Eberflus defended using Fields as a runner by arguing that “only a handful” of his carries were designed runs and the rest were scrambles. That only makes the Bears’ inability to pass that much more damning. They have thrown 23 completions, 45 passes and 235 net yards — all league lows.

Eberflus identified Fields’ footwork and timing, particularly in the pocket, as one specific thing the quarterback had to work on this week before facing the Giants.

“That breaks down sometimes when the protection breaks down,” he said.

The coach again defended the Bears’ lack of passing, saying that the Bears are focused on playing the style they need to win each game.

“It changes week to week,” he said.

Through three weeks, though, it hasn’t. And it makes one wonder whether the Bears would have enough faith in their passing game to even consider it the best way to win.

“Yeah, I think we would have confidence,” Eberflus said, unconvincingly.

The Bears have to help Fields — and he has to help himself. Every completion he throws is one less occasion to run for his life, wondering who will hit him next.