NEWSLETTER
No Zach Wilson. Maybe, Justin Fields?
A potential battle of two first-round quarterbacks from the 2021 draft class has been spoiled by immaturity and injury, and now we’re left with Mike White vs. a less than 100 percent Justin Fields or Trevor Siemian.
If it is Justin Fields, he’ll have his work cut out for him against the Jets’ defense after two light weeks in that regard against Detroit and Atlanta. If it’s Siemian, well, may the force be with him because as Trent Dilfer said this week, it’ll be ugly:
“He’ll get destroyed. He’ll get his brains beat in,” Trent Dilfer said of Siemian on 670 the Score’s Parkins & Spiegel Show. “It’s amazing how much Justin has poured perfume off of their inability to pass protect and pick up basic things.”
I mean …
Yeah, let’s hope it’s Fields. Either way, I’ll be in Vegas this weekend, so I’ll be rewatching this one on my flight back to Chicago late Sunday night, so whatever (sorry, not sorry).
Game Info
Chicago Bears (3-8, 4th NFC North) at New York Jets (6-4, T-3rd AFC East) – FOX (Joe Davis, Daryl Johnston and Pam Oliver); WBBM 780 AM, 105.9 FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)
Kickoff Time: Noon CT
Site: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ.
Referee: John Hussey
Odds: NYJ -4.5, O/U 39 (via DraftKings Sports Book)
You can get in on this action at DraftKings:
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Starting QBs and Projected Game Stats
Jets: Mike White: 21/33, 254 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 2 carries, 8 rushing yards
vs.
Bears: Justin Fields: 14/22, 153 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 13 carries, 77 rushing yards, 1 TD
Week 12 projected stats via ESPN projections
Bears Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Justin Fields
• RB David Montgomery
• FB Khari Blasingame
• WRs Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool
• TE Cole Kmet
• LT Braxton Jones, LG Cody Whitehair, C Sam Mustipher, RG Teven Jenkins, RT Riley Reiff
Defense
• LDE Trevis Gipson, LDT Angelo Blackson, RDT Justin Jones, RDE Dominique Robinson
• SAM Joe Thomas, MIKE Jack Sanborn, WILL Nicholas Morrow
• LCB Jaylon Johnson, RCB Kyler Gordon
• FS Eddie Jackson, SS Jaquan Brisker
Specialists
• Cairo Santos (kicker), Trenton Gill (punter, holder), Patrick Scales (long snapper), Dante Pettis (punt returns), Velus Jones Jr. (kick returns)
Jets Projected Starters
Offense
• QB Mike White
• RB Michael Carter
• WR Corey Davis, Garrett Wilson, Denzel Mims
• TE Tyler Conklin
• LT Duane Brown, LG Lake Tomlinson, C Connor McGovern RG Nate Herbig, RT Mike Remmers
Defense
• LDE Carl Lawson, LDT Solomon Thomas, RDT Quinnen Williams, RDE John Franklin-Myers
• WLB Kwon Alexander, MLB C.J. Mosley, SLB Quincy Williams
• LCB Sauce Gardner, RCB D.J. Reed
• FS Lamarcus Joyner, SS Jordan Whitehead
Specialists
• Greg Zuerlein (kicker), Braden Mann (punter, holder), Thomas Hennessy (long snapper), Braxton Berrios (kick and punt returns)
Three Bears
David Montgomery might be the Bears’ most important player on offense this week against the Jets. Whether it’s an injured Justin Fields or Trevor Siemian under center, the Bears are going to rely on their workhorse back to lead their prolific rushing attack.
Without his backfield mate Khalil Herbert and his quarterback, who ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing yards able to be an active participant in the run game, Monty will need to have his best game of the season against a Jets defense that ranks fifth in the NFL in opposing rushing yards per carry and eighth in total rushing yards.
Justin Fields‘ status is up in the air at the time of this publishing, but with him not going on IR and being seen throwing and practicing on Thursday, I would imagine there’s a good chance he plays against the Jets.
If that’s the case, the question becomes, how effective will Fields be playing with a significant injury to his non-throwing shoulder? For a quarterback like Fields, who does so much with his legs, having a target for Jets defenders to aim for isn’t going to be a great situation. I would imagine that gameplan will keep Fields out of harm by leaning pass-heavy because if it doesn’t, and they’re risking potential further injury to Fields, that would be disappointing.
Good thing for the Bears; Fields has been coming along as a passer. More on that in this week’s Fields Film:
Chase Claypool being largely MIA on Sunday in Atlanta — once again — was pretty disappointing, especially when it seemed like he was trending towards being more involved in the game plan during the week of practice leading up to the Falcons game.
I’m not yet in panic mode when it comes to the lack of Claypool usage, but I am really curious to understand exactly where they stand with their plans for him this season. We heard everyone at Halas Hall say the right things about the situation last week, only for him to be a non-factor for the third game since he was acquired.
Is the fourth time the charm? I sure hope so because Fields will need all the help he can get this week, and I feel that Darnell Mooney will see a lot of Sauce Gardner.
