NEWSLETTER
No, I didn’t miss pulling my hair out with every Matt Nagy decision that drove me up a wall.
And I certainly didn’t miss watching a Bears defense that seems to lose a key player to injury on a weekly basis.
But I did miss watching Justin Fields sling it last week.
Sure, I had my bye week fun. Went on a road trip to clear my head. Gave Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version) a handful of listens. Caught up on Succession, which still slaps — even when episodes don’t have the same snap as much ones in the first two seasons. Snagged a pair of Jordan Royalty 12s with a rare SNKRS app victory. And even caught up with some old friends along the way.
But I still couldn’t shake how much I missed watching Fields do this:
QB Justin Fields was impressive in Week 10 vs. a proven @Steelers defense. Here, @MattBowen41 shows Fields vs. Cover 1, highlighting his ability to hold the Deep safety and drive the ball to his TE on the seam route. #NFL@GregCosell | @__bbell | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/CgOm5sivC5
— NFL Matchup on ESPN (@NFLMatchup) November 21, 2021
Good morning, and daily reminder that Justin Fields is your favorite team’s quarterback pic.twitter.com/Bj6iVicnsd
— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) November 15, 2021
THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!🔥🔥🔥
Justin Fields with an unbelievable touchdown!!#BearDown | @justnfields pic.twitter.com/VMaWt025Y9
— Braggs In The Stands (@BraggsInStands) October 31, 2021
Another week, another opportunity for Fields to prove himself in a big game. Not a “big game” so much in terms of playoff hope. Football Outsiders gives the Bears a 1.4% chance at making the postseason. Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight’s traditional Elo forecast is a hair more optimistic, giving the Bears a 5% chance at getting in the dance. A second consecutive postseason berth is a long-shot, but those pipe dreams take a back seat to Fields’ development. Because if Fields can show more growth coming out of the bye, it will allow us to dream bigger down the road.
Baltimore’s defense is aggressive, but has allowed multi-TD passes to quarterbacks in three if their last five games. In two of those games, the Ravens coughed up 400+ passing yards. In other words, this feels like a good time for Fields to take another step in his development.
Chicago is set to play two games in five days. Let’s get it!
Game Info
Chicago Bears (3-6) vs. Baltimore Ravens (6-3) – on CBS-TV ((Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote), SportsUSA (Larry Kahn, Mark Carrier)
Kickoff time: Noon CT
Site: Soldier Field
Referee: Shawn Smith
Odds: Bears +1.5 (-110), O/U 40 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
Game Thread (Week 11 Preview)
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun.
Hype Video
Coaches
Bears Matt Nagy (31-26) vs. Steelers Mike Tomlin (149-81-1)
Starting Quarterbacks and Projected Game Stats
BEARS: Justin Fields: 18/29, 211 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 7 carries, 38 rushing yards
versus
RAVENS: Tyler Huntley: 19/31, 223 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 7 carries, 30 yards
Projected stats via ESPN projections
Bears Offense (Projected Starters in Bold)
QB Justin Fields
Reserves: Andy Dalton
RB David Montgomery
Reserves: Khalil Herbert, Ryan Nall
WR Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, Damiere Byrd
Reserves: Jakeem Grant Sr., Isaiah Coulter
TE Cole Kmet
Reserves: Jimmy Graham, Jesse James
LT Jason Peters
LG Cody Whitehair
C Sam Mustipher
RG James Daniels
RT Larry Borom
Reserves: Lachavious Simmons, Alex Bars, Elijah Wilkinson
Bears Defense
DT Angelo Blackson
NT Eddie Goldman
DE Bilal Nichols
Reserves: Khyiris Tonga, Mario Edwards Jr., Angelo Blackson
OLB Robert Quinn, Trevis Gipson
Reserves: Cassius Marsh, Christian Jones
ILB Roquan Smith, Alec Ogletree
Reserves: Caleb Johnson, Joel Iyiegbuniwe
CB Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor
Reserves: Duke Shelley, Xavier Crawford
S DeAndre Houston-Carson, Tashaun Gipson Sr.
Reserves: Deon Bush, Marqui Christian, Teez Tabor
Bears Special Teams
Cairo Santos (kicker), Pat O’Donnell (punter), Patrick Scales (long-snapper), Jakeem Grant Sr. (kick and punt returns)
Bears Inactives
Inactives for #BALvsCHI: pic.twitter.com/pzYTvbBb5X
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 21, 2021
Ravens Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Tyler Huntley
• RB Devonta Freeman
• WRs Sammy Watkins, Rashod Bateman
• TE Mark Andrews
• LT Alejandro Villanueva, LG Ben Powers, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Kevin Zeitler, RT Tyre Phillips
Defense
• DT Justin Madubuike, NT Justin Ellis, DE Calais Campbell, RUSH Justin Houston
• MLB Josh Bynes, WLB Patrick Queen, SAM Tyus Bowser
• CBs Tavon Young, Marlon Humphrey
• FS Brandon Stephens, SS Chuck Clark
Specialists
• Justin Tucker (kicker), Sam Koch (punter, holder), Nick Moore (long snapper), Devin Duvernay (kick and punt returns)
Ravens Inactives
Today's Inactives: pic.twitter.com/p4bKR72UxC
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) November 21, 2021
