The Cleveland Browns terrorized Justin Fields on Sunday, sacking the rookie quarterback nine times in his first NFL start. Myles Garrett had a team-record 4.5 of those sacks, and he seems to think Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy was responsible for many of them.
In a phone conversation with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk after Cleveland’s dominant 26-6 win, Garrett indicated that the Bears did not properly utilize Fields. Florio shared what Garrett told him during NBC’s “Football Night in America” broadcast.
“He told me that the Browns’ defense was surprised by the way Justin Fields was used, or more accurately, the way he wasn’t used,” Florio said, per Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. “They didn’t move him around, they didn’t get him out of the pocket, they didn’t roll him out, they didn’t take advantage of his mobility. It made it easier for the defensive linemen to get home, to get him onto the ground, and we saw Garrett do it 4.5 times, a team record.”
The Bears could not move the ball against Cleveland. They had just 47 yards and six first downs in the game. Fans in Chicago were excited for Fields to start instead of Andy Dalton, but the result with the rookie was much, much worse.
Nagy may have been trying to protect Fields, but he certainly did not put him in a position to succeed. Nick Foles, who is No. 3 on the Bears’ depth chart, appeared to be shown on camera at one point saying the offense was not working. Garrett and anyone who watched the game agreed.
If Fields starts again in Week 4, Nagy has to get more creative with the play designs. Otherwise, the coach will watch Fields’ career fizzle out as quickly as Mitchell Trubisky’s did.
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