Oct 3, 2021; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy and Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) shake hands before the game against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports
NFLBy Sean Keeley on

Chicago’s long, regional nightmare is finally over. After weeks of wondering just what in the heck head coach Matt Nagy is thinking, the Chicago Bears have named rookie Justin Fields their starting quarterback moving forward.

The move follows weeks of confusing decision-making by Nagy, who stubbornly kept saying that Andy Dalton was the starter so long as he was healthy. Meanwhile, the Bears’ offense seemed to be suffering from a playbook that didn’t make sense coupled with the uncertainty that Dalton’s injury threw into the mix. While Fields struggled in his first start a couple of weeks ago, the team saw a huge improvement last weekend thanks to a new offensive gameplan, called by offensive coordinator Bill Lazor.

Nagy came under scrutiny as the Bears’ offense sputtered when he was calling plays and refusing to adjust the gameplan for Fields or even consider making the rookie his starter in order to get him more reps. And he’s taken on a lot of flak for the way he’s handled things as they’ve progressed, taking responsibility for changes while also presumably being the reason things needed to change.

For his part, Fields sounds excited for the opportunity and ready to do the work. He said that his parents wanted to go out and celebrate when he got the news about being the starter but he decided to stay home and stay focused.

Meanwhile, while people think the move is a positive one, there are certainly plenty of reactions to the announcement from NFL circles on Twitter.

Fields will get put to the test this weekend in his first official game as the starting quarterback when the Bears travel to Las Vegas to take on the 3-1 Raiders. A lot of people are going to be keeping an eye on the stats and the outcome to justify the decision, even if it’s way more of a marathon than a sprint.

[Bears]

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About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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