NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Justin Fields darted to the right out of the pocket and focused on the Nissan Stadium end zone as Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Teair Tart chased him.
The Chicago Bears rookie quarterback saw tight end Jesper Horsted between two defenders and fired the pass, which Horsted reached to grab before he rolled out of the end zone.
The 20-yard touchdown pass with 52 seconds to play in the second quarter was Fields’ final play of his first NFL preseason. It was a nice ending to an otherwise pedestrian outing, something for Bears fans to hold on to until they see the first-round pick in game action again.
That date is marked as TBD.
After Fields completed 7 of 10 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 13 yards on two carries against the Titans, he returns to Lake Forest as the backup to Andy Dalton. Bears coach Matt Nagy has pledged over and over again to start the veteran Dalton in the season opener Sept. 12 against the Los Angeles Rams, and Fields’ performance in the third preseason game wasn’t going to change that.
The preseason finale can be a big moment for players on the roster bubble trying to make one more good impression, but it most often leaves fans wanting more as starters sit to stay healthy with the season looming. And fans were left wanting more of Fields, more so because of the players who didn’t play with him Saturday.
Fields played behind the starting offensive line, which saw its first game action together after early injuries to right tackle Germain Ifedi and right guard James Daniels and the late arrival of left tackle Jason Peters.
But most of the other Bears starters sat out with Dalton. Fields wasn’t hitting Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet or Jimmy Graham with crucial passes or handing off to David Montgomery. He was playing, as he has all preseason, with backups such as wide receivers Rodney Adams and Riley Ridley and running back Khalil Herbert.
All three have made big plays this preseason, but it remains unknown what Fields might look like with Bears starters.
The touchdown drive was helped by two Titans penalties, starting with a defensive pass interference call on safety Matthias Farley on a long pass to Horsted. Fields then hit Adams for a 7-yard pass, and Titans cornerback Breon Borders slammed Adams down on the tackle, drawing an unnecessary roughness penalty. Fields threw the touchdown pass on the next play.
Before that, Fields’ most exciting play was wiped out on a Titans challenge. On third-and-8 on the Bears’ third drive, he threw 11 yards to Adams, who dived to catch the ball as he tumbled out of bounds. It originally was ruled a catch, but replay showed Adams’ elbow hit out of bounds before he completed the catch.
Playing behind the starting line didn’t help Fields on the first drive, when the Bears went three-and-out. On third-and-4 at the 20, Titans linebackers Ola Adeniyi and Derick Roberson combined to sack Fields for a loss of 7.
Fields hit Adams for a 7-yard pass for the first Bears first down of the game on the second drive. But after a 1-yard pass to Adams, a 7-yard pass to Ridley and a 1-yard gain by Damien Williams, the Titans stopped Williams for no gain on fourth-and-1.
Along with the aforementioned starters on offense, outside linebackers Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, defensive linemen Akiem Hicks and Bilal Nichols, inside linebackers Roquan Smith and Alec Ogletree, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safeties Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson sat out on defense.
Veteran inside linebacker Danny Trevathan and nose tackle Eddie Goldman were the most notable defensive players to play, along with the cornerbacks competing for starting spots. Trevathan, who didn’t play in the first two preseason games, intercepted Titans quarterback Matt Barkley at the Bears 7-yard line on the second drive to cap his appearance.
Bears cornerback Tre Roberson came up with another interception against Titans quarterback Logan Woodside, who was pressured by outside linebacker Trevis Gipson, and Roberson returned it 27 yards for a touchdown to tie it 7-7 in the second quarter.
Horsted caught three touchdown passes, including a 6-yarder and a 54-yarder from Nick Foles in the second half.
The Bears now have a couple of days to trim their roster from 80 to 53 players by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
With an extra week between the final preseason game and the season opener this year, Nagy said the Bears would go heavy on strength and conditioning and mental reps in the week ahead but also would begin game-planning for the Rams.
That plan will include Dalton as the starter as Nagy wants to give the veteran his chance to retain the job during the season. Fields — and Bears fans — can only wait to see what Dalton does with that opportunity.
