Trent Dilfer says Bears QB Justin Fields isn’t as bad as his numbers look
On paper, there wasn’t much to be impressed with following the performance of Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields in Sunday’s 20-12 loss to the New York Giants.
The second-year QB completed 11-of-22 passes for 174 yards with a passer rating of 76.7 — nearly 13 points below the NFL average of 89.4 — marking his best game of the season, but still leaving a lot left to be desired.
However, during a radio interview with Parkins and Spiegel on 670 the Score on Monday, former Super Bowl winning quarterback Trent Dilfer explained why he saw things differently.
“I feel way better about Justin Fields,” Dilfer said. “I think I feel worse about the Bears.
“…(Fields) was decisive, really decisive, ripped some balls in the middle of the field off (play) action, beautiful deep ball — an amazing throw on the third down helmet shot to (Dante) Pettis that Pettis drops. [His] movement skills were fantastic, scrambles, that playmaker bucket was evident.”
Fields has thrown for just 471 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions through four games. He’s also been sacked 16 times, tied for the second-most in the NFL. Until Sunday, Fields had not thrown for more than 125 yards in any game, and he’s gone three straight games without throwing a touchdown.
But it’s those numbers — the box score analysis, if you will — that Dilfer says is responsible for the negativity surrounding Fields league-wide. He believes that the below average supporting cast and play calling that Fields has had to work with is more to blame than the QB’s actual body of work.
"Stats aren't important when you're a player, until you become a coach, because you realize stats create narratives," Dilfer said. "And the narrative when the stats aren't good is that he [Fields] was bad. Bad game equals bad stats. Sometimes for a quarterback, bad stats equal bad players, bad scheme, bad play calls, but you actually did your job right."
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