Justin Fields ‘tired of being just this close’ after another Bears loss

CHICAGO – Standing in front of the mic after a difficult game in a number of ways on a chilly October Thursday night at Soldier Field, the Bears’ quarterback delivered an answer to a question that many people had on their minds.

“How does your body feel,” was the inquiry to Justin Fields.

“I’m hurting. I’m hurting pretty good,” said the second-year signal caller after a 12-7 loss to the Commanders on Thursday evening. “But we got a long weekend, so I will have some extra time to heal up.”

Fields will need it after he appeared to be in pain a number of times after a number of hits from Washington defenders over the course of the contest. Two at the end of the second quarter had him slow to get up as he made his way to the locker room at halftime.

On his lone touchdown pass of the night in the third quarter to Dante Pettis – an impressive 40-yard toss to the endzone – he was hit hard and was down a few seconds.

Yet that physical pain wasn’t the only part of Fields’ and the rest of the offense’s night, as the unit had a number of close calls only to come up with nothing. The team went to the red zone three times and didn’t come up with a single point.

After a strong second drive of the game that got the Bears down to the Commanders’ 5-yard line, Fields’ pass hit the helmet of Washington’s Jonathan Allen and popped in the air, with the defensive lineman finishing the play with an interception.

In the second quarter, the Bears got down to the three-yard line when a pass to a wide-open Ryan Griffin in the endzone didn’t connect. Then on fourth down from the one, Khalil Herbert was stuffed at the goal line to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.

After losing the lead following a fumbled punt for Velus Jones Jr. that led to a Brian Robinson rushing touchdown for the Commanders, Fields got the Bears in a position to get the win thanks to a 39-yard scramble to the Washington five-yard line.

Then came a one-yard quarterback run, an incompletion, and a pass to Dante Pettis in the endzone that hit his hands for a moment but was incomplete. On 4th-and-Goal, Fields hit Darnell Mooney with a pass in the hands, but he couldn’t control it in time to cross the goal line.

Three trips inside Washington’s five-yard line led to nothing, and cost the team the game.

“When the play is there, make it. Plain and simple. There is no logistics. It’s not complicated. It’s
when you have that opportunity, finish. It’s that simple,” said Fields when asked about the red zone struggles. “We just didn’t do that tonight. You don’t have to make it harder than it is, pitch and catch. The one that’s making me mad is the one to Griff in the end zone. He probably
could have ran a little bit more, but he’s wide open. I got to hit that.

“I’m an NFL quarterback. I got to hit that.”

Fields finished with 14-of-27 passing for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception along with 88 rushing yards (7.3 per carry), but it’s those misses so close to the goal line that lingers.

It led to another painful loss for the Bears, who fall to 2-4 on the season, along with the quarterback, who was left hurting by 12 hits and five sacks from Washington. But having the game play out like it did, especially the ending, stings even more.

“Just we always get told that we’re almost there, we’re almost there. Like me personally, I’m tired of being almost there. Tired of being just this close. Feel like I’ve been hearing it for so long now,” said Fields. “At the end of the day all you can do is get back to work. That’s the only reaction you have. Live and you learn, and get back to next week and keep going, keep getting better.”