STAYIN ALIVE in Chitown - Who Gets The Game Ball?

Justin Fields’ statistics from Sunday’s matchup between the Bears and Vikings were flat-out miserable, especially when Brian Flores’ defense got after him. Per PFF, Fields was blitzed on 70% of snaps and pressured on 64% of his drop-backs. Both of those numbers are at least double league average. When under pressure Fields went 3-for-11 with an interception and was sacked four times.

The Vikings’ success was a combination of players winning reps and causing havoc in the backfield and Fields having no answers for the extra rushers. Let’s have a look at four plays that tell the story…

We begin with the second drive of the game. Fields just converted a short third down and the Bears dial up a deep shot. Both outside receivers run go routes trying to catch the Vikings in a single-high safety defense that could give them a one-on-one matchup down the sideline. Chicago gets the look they want, DJ Moore gets an edge on his man and Cam Bynum isn’t extremely quick to help, opening up a window for Fields to let loose to his top-notch receiver. Instead he seems to sense Josh Metellus blitzing off the edge free because the fullback goes out into the flat and he flips it over to the short option rather than cutting it loose.



It is always difficult to say where the reads were supposed to be but on the opposing side to Moore is a wide open checkdown that could have resulted in much more yardage and a deep option without the safety over top. Fields felt the heat and picked the only player who was completely covered.

After a Kirk Cousins fumble, Fields immediately gave the ball back to the Vikings when Danielle Hunter slammed into him and impacted the throw. Fields had another look at a deep shot or an easy and wide open underneath receiver to the same side of the field where he was looking, yet he didn’t throw the ball on time to the double move or throw underneath for a first down. He waited too long and allowed Hunter to get penetration. That’s no surprise because Hunter ended up facing a running back, which should have been a clear sign for Fields to get rid of it sooner.



Throughout the day Fields seemed to have no idea where the pressure was coming from or how to manage it. On the play below, Flores lines up eight in the box with Bynum walking up and then Brian Asamoah comes screaming off the edge. The blitzing linebacker muddies the pocket and Fields immediately brings his eyes down and runs rather than stepping up and looking to throw the ball to his receiver in the middle of the field. Certainly it would have been a difficult throw with Bynum and Hicks in zone coverage but Fields didn’t hang around long enough for his receiver to get depth behind the zone where he may have been able to complete a big gain.



That wasn’t the only time Asamoah as successful on the blitz or that Fields still had a chance to make something of the play and did not do so. At mid-field, the 2022 third-rounder blasted the running back at full speed, knocking him back right into Fields’ kitchen. The QB rolled out and tucked the ball rather than staying on the lookout for his receiver, who had space in the middle of the field to make an off-schedule play.



There were chances all over the tape for Fields to make something happen but part of the risk-reward of dialing up blitzes is knowing which QBs will make you pay and which will not. Fields did not.

It was also notable how many different players Flores used and with all sorts of different alignments. In total fourteen players rushed the passer for the Vikings and Metellus was second with four pressures. Metellus, who is technically considered a safety, had 35 snaps either on the defensive line or in the box. Harrison Smith was at the line or in the box on 29 snaps.