Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields had a lot of pressure on him heading into Week 1. That pressure on him and the entire offense only intensified after a 38-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
The Score’s Danny Parkins of the Audacy original podcast “1st & Pod” sounded off on the Bears’ “cowardly” playcalling that he deemed “coaching malpractice” in the blowout loss.
“I’ve lived through Aaron Kromer and Matt Nagy and Gary Crowton and Dowell Loggains and terrible, terrible … offensive gameplans and playcalling,” Parkins said (18:20 in player above). “What in the ever-loving bleep are they doing with Justin Fields where he throws the ball 37 times and three of them travel more than 10 yards in the air? Three of them!”
Fields ended the game 24-for-37 passing for 216 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked four times for a loss of 27 yards.
The game planning and playcalling just didn’t add up with someone like Fields under center.
“D.J. Moore had two targets when the game mattered. They were down 24-6 and he had two targets,” Parkins continued. “What is the point of having the most gifted athlete in the sport at quarterback with a massive arm and a number one receiver who you trade the first overall pick for to skip on a quarterback if you’re not going to throw the damn ball down the field?”
Moore caught those two targets for a 14-yard catch and 11-yard catch but it ultimately didn’t make much of a difference.
“And then when he threw the ball down the field, they score a touchdown! To Darnell Mooney,” Parkins exclaimed. “No designed runs. Every run that he had was a tuck and run. It was unbelievable. It was so cowardly; it was coaching malpractice.”
Despite no designed runs, Fields was the Bears’ leading rusher with 59 yards on nine carries. He nearly had more yards than Khalil Herbert (27 on 9 carries), Roschon Johnson (20 on 5), and D’Onta Foreman (16 on 5) combined.
Week 1 was a wake-up call for Fields and the Bears. They’ll look to bounce back down in Tampa Bay on Sunday.