While the Chicago Bears answered questions about their defense in their 20-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, there’s still a pretty important question surrounding who will be Chicago’s starting quarterback in Week 3.
Andy Dalton got the start against his former team, but he didn’t make it through the first half after suffering a knee injury following a scramble in the second quarter. That paved the way for rookie Justin Fields, who stepped in for an injured Dalton for the remainder of the game.
While Fields’ performance was shaky — littered with rookie mistakes and not the prettiest of box scores — it should mark the start of the Fields era in Chicago. There are going to be growing pains, as there are with any rookie, and the best way to learn is on the field.
With Dalton’s status still up in the air, Nagy was asked whether Dalton would still be the starter if he’s healthy.
“I’m not going to get into any of that,” Nagy said, a statement that was more telling than him attempting to talk around the matter.
Matt Nagy when asked if Andy Dalton is still the starter if he's healthy:
"I'm not going to get into any of that."
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) September 19, 2021
While Dalton was downgraded as “doubtful” to return for the game, Nagy said Dalton was the emergency quarterback if needed during the game. Nagy told reporters he was “pretty sure” that Dalton didn’t suffer a serious ACL injury, although he’ll know more tomorrow following an MRI.
If that’s the case, it’ll be interesting to see whether Nagy decides to continue to roll with Fields or goes back to Dalton. Although you could argue that now that the Bears have gone to Fields, there’s no going back.
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