CHICAGO — Andy Dalton says his left knee is getting better every day and Justin Fields says he’s using Sunday’s disastrous performance as extra motivation.
Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy is going to wait until Sunday morning to name a starting quarterback, a new twist for an organization that seemingly has accomplished almost everything imaginable when it comes to ineptitude at the position.
To be fair, delaying a decision until just before kickoff against the Detroit Lions isn’t, by itself, a mistake in the latest chapter of the franchise’s bid to replace Sid Luckman. It’s certainly a sign the coaching staff is holding out hope Dalton will be healthy enough to start.
Nagy has maintained Dalton will be QB1 when healthy, and the veteran returned to practice Wednesday after sitting out 10 days with a bone bruise in his left knee during the second quarter of the Week 2 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Dalton looked a little gimpy during practice Wednesday, but it was evident Friday in the portion of practice open to the media that he has made progress.
“I feel really good where I’m at,” said Dalton, who has been arriving early every day at Halas Hall to rehabilitate the injury.
Beyond that, he wouldn’t provide any clues on which way Nagy could be leaning. “I’d say it’s going to be a game-time decision with everything as I’m sure you’ve heard from Matt,” Dalton said.
“With the injury, you’re just trying to get back as soon as possible, and I feel really good where I’m at. I did some things out there (today) and felt good about where I was. Just going to leave it at that.”
Fields was on the injury report all week with a right thumb issue but was a full participant all week.
If the Bears choose Dalton on Sunday, it might not be popular with the majority of Bears fans. Nagy isn’t going to win popularity contests in the city right now no matter what moves he makes or what he says. Nagy did say that considering Dalton as a game-time possibility isn’t a reflection of a lack of confidence in Fields, even after the awful showing last week in a 26-6 road loss to the Cleveland Browns.
The Bears struggled mightily to protect Fields on Sunday in a disastrous 26-6 loss. They won’t face a pass rusher near the caliber of the Browns’ Myles Garrett, who set a franchise record with 4 1/2 of the team’s nine sacks. They also won’t have to contend with a hostile road crowd, which should also help them create time and space for Fields and open holes for the running game.
Fields completed 6 of 20 passes for 68 yards against the Browns, and seven of his passes were deflected by defenders. The offense totaled only 47 yards on 42 snaps, making it a historically bad showing even though the Bears trailed by only one touchdown entering the fourth quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium.
“It’s honest,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said when asked how the coaching staff assessed the game film with Fields. “It’s real now. Do you ever hope to be in that exact same situation again? Hopefully not ever in his career. But you know, it happened. So you just say, ‘OK, faced with these adversities, here’s how I reacted.’
“When you tally that many sacks on the game sheet, do all quarterbacks get affected by that? Absolutely. So we know that. Is it fair? Life’s not fair, right? That was his first regular-season NFL start. Sometimes there’s good. Sometimes there’s bad. But if you learn from it, then it’s not bad. It feels bad. But if you just take that attitude, learn from it, then it’s not bad.”
Nagy said the decision process is so involved that he couldn’t say whether the possibility exists that Dalton would be healthy enough to be the backup but not to start. He did rule out Nick Foles as a potential starter, something he mentioned as at least a possibility at the start of the week.
Offensive lines, especially struggling ones, can look considerably different at home than they do on the road, and the Lions’ pass defense has been a sieve with opponents averaging 10.2 yards per attempt and a passer rating of 123.2.
That should provide the Bears with some optimism for a passing game that is ranked last in the NFL in passing yards, passing yards per attempt and sacks per attempt, 29th in completion percentage and 31st in passer rating.
— Notes: Outside linebacker Khalil Mack (sprained foot) returned to practice Friday and is expected to play. He is listed as questionable. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman (knee) was a full participant in practice for the second consecutive day, putting him on track to make his 2021 debut as he was removed from the injury report. Strong safety Tashaun Gipson (hamstring) is doubtful and inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe (hamstring) has been ruled out.
