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

CHICAGO — Standing in front of the microphone on a chilly Thursday night in October at Soldier Field after a difficult game in many ways, the Bears quarterback provided an answer to a question on the mind of many.

“How does your body feel?” was the question to Justin Fields.

“I have pain. I’m feeling pretty bad,” said the signal caller in his second year after a 12:7 defeat against the commanders on Thursday evening. “But we have a long weekend, so I will have a little more time to recover.”

Fields will need it after appearing to be in pain several times over the course of the competition following multiple hits from Washington defenders. Two at the end of the second quarter got him up slowly as he made his way to the dressing room at halftime.

On his only touchdown pass of the night to Dante Pettis in the third quarter – an impressive 40-yard throw into the end zone – he was hit hard and was a few seconds behind.

That physical pain wasn’t the only part of Fields and the rest of the night of the offensive, however, as the unit had a series of tight calls only to find nothing. The team went into the red zone three times and didn’t get a single point.

After a strong second drive of the game that took the Bears to the Commanders 5, Field’s pass hit Washington’s Jonathan Allen’s helmet and slammed in the air, with the defenseman ending the game with an interception.

In the second quarter, the Bears came down to the three-yard line when a pass failed to connect to a wide-open Ryan Griffin in the end zone. Then, fourth from first, Khalil Herbert was crammed onto the goal line to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.

After Fields lost the lead after a fiddly punt for Velus Jones Jr. that led to a quick Brian Robinson touchdown for the Commanders, Fields put the Bears in the ball thanks to a 39-yard scramble to Washington’s five-yard line able to achieve victory.

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

Three trips inside the Washington five-yard line came to nothing and cost the team the game.

“If the piece is there, do it. Plain and simple. There are no logistics. It’s not complicated. It is
If you have the opportunity, finish it. It’s that simple,” Fields said when asked about the red-zone fights. “We just didn’t do that tonight. You don’t have to make it harder than throwing and catching. The one that pisses me off is the grip in the end zone. He probably
could have walked a bit more, but he’s wide open. I have to meet this

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

Fields ended on 14 of 27 passes for 190 yards with a touchdown and an interception and 88 rushing yards (7.3 per carry), but it’s those misses so close to the goal line that stick.

It resulted in another painful loss for the Bears, who fell to 2-4 on the season along with the quarterback injured by 12 hits and five sacks from Washington. But playing the game the way it was, especially the ending, hurts even more.

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