NEWSLETTER
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus provided an update on his start quarterback’s health after he left the team’s Week 16 loss to the Bills with an apparent foot injury.
“He’s healthy; he’s ready to go this week,” Eberflus said Monday at Halas Hall (via Bears Twitter).
Fields left the game against the Bills after his foot was stepped on, but there’s no lingering concern for the second-year quarterback moving forward, according to Matt Eberflus.
As to whether or not the rookie head coach has given any consideration to shutting down Justin Fields for the final two games of the season, Eberflus said it is “absolutely not” a consideration for the Bears.
Despite some outside discussion this week as to whether or not the Bears can move up to No. 1 in the 2023 NFL draft order — something that would require them to lose out — Matt Eberflus made it clear that the Bears see these final two games as important, making it even more clear that Fields will play in them so long as he’s healthy.
“Because we’ve got to get better; we want to improve,” Eberflus said. ” We want to see where we are. These last two games matter; they’re division opponents for us, very important to our football team. To see the competition, to see guys compete against our division, I think it’s important for each man. It’s important for each unit, and it’s important for our whole football team.”
Eberflus also said that he sees plenty of value in winning these final two games, regardless of how it would affect their draft position, primarily because he feels like they need to learn how to finish games, something most Justin Fields skeptics and supporters can agree on.
“We’ve got to learn how to finish. … To me, that’s important going into the future.”
Fields and the Bears were worn down in the second half against a pair of elite opponents in Philadelphia and Buffalo in recent weeks but have had numerous opportunities this season to tie or take the lead late in games and have failed to do so. While I don’t buy the notion that you can be conditioned to be a “loser” per se, I do agree that there is value in winning some of these games, especially for Justin Fields.
