Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields made a bold statement about his team’s intentions ahead of their Week 1 matchup against the Green Bay Packers. It’s been a pandemic and some change since the Bears last beat the Packers during the 2018 season. Fields is 0-4 against the Packers.
Fields said last season his goal was to win a Super Bowl and beat the Packers. His general manager, Ryan Poles, gave Fields a laundry list of items to improve on before discussing his fifth-year option, which the Bears must decide on after the season. The pressure will be on Fields to improve his play and show he can lead the Bears to victory over their NFC North rival.
The stakes will be high in Week 1 for Fields and Packers quarterback Jordan Love. Love and Fields will play in the first Bears/Packers game in the post-Brett Favre/Aaron Rodgers eras of Green Bay quarterback dominance.
The winner will appease their fan base for a few weeks. The loser will feel a sense of panic before Week 2.
Fields doesn’t seem to have it in his mind the Bears will lose the game. In a one-on-one interview with Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, Fields made a striking statement about how confident he is that the Bears will beat the Packers:
“It’s our everyday (approach) and the guys we have on our team. The mindset everybody has. The first game — playing Green Bay — that’s an opportunity to start this off on the right foot. That’s an opportunity to make a statement to where the season’s going to go. Of course, we haven’t beat them in a while. So it’ll be good to start the year off strong with them, getting that win and just continuing to get better from there. I’m excited for it.”
Fields said the new attitude is a part of Poles’ plan to install a championship mindset in the locker room. The idea is that players go into the stadium believing they will win the game. Fields said that in his rookie year, the team just hoped they could win the game.
The new attitude will continue this season only by winning. Otherwise, doubt about the Bears’ season and Fields’ future in Chicago will creep in.
Let’s hope Fields and the Bears back up this mindset with actions on the field.
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