LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Justin Fields finished the Bears' 35-13 loss to the Buffalo Bills with a sore left and a nagging left shoulder injury.
With Fields battling through discomfort and the offensive cast around him in flux, some wondered if head coach Matt Eberflus would opt to shut the second-year quarterback down for the team's final two games. Those cheery members of the Bears' tank brigade hoping to land the No. 1 overall pick spent their Christmas holiday wishcasting for the Bears to make such a decision.
But wishful thinking is all that is.
On Monday, Eberflus announced that Fields is healthy and "good to go" for Sunday's Week 17 game against the Lions in Detroit. As for the idea that the Bears would shut down a healthy Fields, Eberflus took a wrecking ball to that thought.
"Absolutely not," Eberflus said Monday. "Because we’ve got to get better. We want to improve. We want to see where we are. These last two games matter. They’re division opponents to 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.”
With the Houston Texans' Week 16 win over the Tennessee Titans, the Bears are back in the picture for the No. 1 pick. A Texans win coupled with two Bears losses to finish the season would have Chicago picking first in the 2023 NFL Draft.
While that asset could help jumpstart the rebuild that Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles have in front of them, the Bears' head coach sees value in Fields and the rest of the young Bears playing and perhaps winning their final two games.
"I would see value in that because we have to learn how to finish," Eberflus said.
"They’re getting close to really understanding how to finish the game, and you finish with game-defining execution. That’s what you finish with. You finish in those moments that the plays when they matter in the fourth quarter, we execute. And to me, these next two games are just about that. Being able to execute in those game-defining moments, those plays that matter, and getting it done. And to me, that’s important going forward to the future."
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The Bills did a good job corraling Fields Saturday, ensuring he couldn't get outside the pocket and hurt them with his legs. Buffalo held Fields to just 11 yards on seven carries and highlighted how little help the 23-year-old quarterback has around him.
Fields' foot was stepped on late in the loss to the Bills. He still couldn't bear weight on it after the game, but he said he would be "ready to go" for Sunday's game vs. the Lions. As for his left shoulder injury, Fields said he was told it would be a "nagging" issue for the remainder of the season.
Fields' ascent over the last nine games has the Bears' rebuild in a good place heading into a critical offseason. But he still is very early in his quarterback education, and NFL game reps are invaluable for a young quarterback.
The Bears aren't going to throw those reps away. Nor should they.
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