(670 The Score) Well, gang: we're here. The End. The last game of a miserable Bears season is, somewhat fittingly, a nooner against the Vikings on Sunday. Decades from now, when someone asks me to define what mediocre football is -- which is surely something they'll do -- I'll look back with a fond smile and remember the Bears and the Vikings playing in front of 15 people. But it isn't all bad! Justin Fields is back! Maybe he'll even throw the ball more than 25 times. Here are the matchups to watch for one last time.
Editor's note: After this piece was published, the Bears announced that Fields has landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, meaning he's unlikely to play in the season finale.
Bears QB Justin Fields vs. his ankle
Fields has missed the last two games because of an ankle injury that he suffered against the Vikings on Dec. 20, which brings a nice symmetry to this weekend's exhibition. Fields and the Bears are adamant that his ankle is healthy enough for him to start, which I tend to believe is the truth given how invested coach Matt Nagy has always been in starting literally anyone besides Fields. Is his ankle "lead the team in rushing" healthy, like he did in the loss to the 49ers earlier this season? Or is it more "he's probably fine and we want him to end the year on a good note" healthy? Getting four quarters of a totally healthy and mobile Fields would be a nice lil' treat for Bears fans who deserve something nice for once.
Fields vs. the football and gravity
Would you believe me if I told you that Fields has fumbled at least once in seven of his 10 starts? Would you also believe me if I told you that he has even fumbled in a game he didn't start? There have been, simply put, so many fumbles. I definitely get it -- I would drop the football every single time I got hit by a professional football player -- but also I'm not a franchise quarterback ... whose job it is to actually *not* drop the football. Ball security is going to be the top priority for Fields this offseason, and you'd hope he kicks that project off early by showing some improvement in the season finale.
Fields and Bears WR Allen Robinson vs. fate's cruel inevitability
One of this season's biggest injustices was that we never got much out of the Fields-Robinson connection. Even going back to those first days of training camp, the two have never seemed to be quite as on-the-same-page as people expected them to be. I'm not sure what's the more obvious statement -- that Fields will be back next season or that Robinson won't. Do the two of them have *one* good game in them? The Vikings have an extremely average pass defense (16th in DVOA), so in theory, there are plays to be made on Sunday. Robinson has been a stand-up guy throughout his tenure in Chicago, so it'd be nice just to see him leave on a good note. Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet will be fine -- the Bears gotta get ARob 10-plus targets Sunday, just for old time's sake.
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
