For those desperately seeking positives from the Chicago Bears’ latest loss — a 19-13 clunker against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field — the Sunday X-rays taken on quarterback Justin Fields’ throwing hand came back negative.
So there’s that, right?
No broken bones. No extreme dread that Fields’ availability for the rest of the season could be in jeopardy.
In fact, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Fields expressed a desire to return after he landed funny on his right hand while taking a third-quarter sack. Fields first went to the bench grimacing, then retreated to the blue medical tent on the sideline, then went back toward the locker room for those in-stadium X-rays.
Fields wanted back in. “He just couldn’t grip the ball to throw it,” Eberflus said.
According to a report from Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer, Fields dislocated his right thumb on his fall. Thus, the quarterback’s day was done. And eventually so were the Bears, fizzling again on a potential game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. (This time it was rookie Tyson Bagent throwing a loss-sealing interception.)
But now what? How can this dispirited and banged-up group continue to pick itself up during a season that keeps swinging at them with such ferocity? Now they have elevated quarterback uncertainty to sort through, too? Man oh man.
By sundown Sunday, it sure felt like things for the Bears had become exponentially more complicated and significantly more bleak. Is this city again veering into a heated and convoluted quarterback conversation on which direction they need to go next?
Will the weight of all this losing eventually break this team’s spirit?
Is there anything at all that seems solidly in place right now?
Still, Fields’ Sunday X-rays didn’t reveal any fracture in his right hand. And the hope, of course, is the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan he’ll have Monday brings back equally encouraging news. So there’s that, right?
Beyond that, there is not much sunshine peaking through the storm clouds for these 1-5 Bears, whose Soldier Field losing streak hit 10 games while their NFC North skid climbed to 11 on Sunday.
So much for the momentum the Bears seemed to have coming off a 20-point road win over the Washington Commanders in Week 5. So much for the offensive surge in the previous two games in which the points (68) and Fields’ passing yardage (617) piled up at such an un-Bears-like clip.
Instead, even before Fields was injured Sunday, the offense was again back in a familiar wheeze, managing just six points and 40 net passing yards over the first seven possessions.
Fields’ numbers: 6-for-10 for 58 yards plus a second-quarter interception on which he was drilled by Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter as he tried to hunt a double-move deep shot to DJ Moore. (Overall, Fields only found Moore once for a ho-hum 7-yard completion in the first quarter.)
Just like that, the Bears’ October offensive groove quickly became a rut.
Fields was also sacked four times, including a 5-yard loss on the play during which he was hurt. That sequence was a perfect storm of misfortune with Fields holding the ball too long and struggling to create space in the pocket amid pressure. He was hit by Hunter more than 6 seconds after the snap then broke his fall with both hands after attempting to throw the ball away.
Just like that, Fields’ day was done with his status for the future — both short- and long-term — again thrown into flux. “We’ll see where he is going forward,” Eberflus said.
To Bagent’s credit, he handled his NFL regular season debut with his trademark poise.
“His demeanor was great,” Eberflus said. “He’s always great.”
Added running back D’Onta Foreman: “We have a lot of trust in Tyson. It’s his poise, his calmness, the way he commands the huddle and gets everybody on the right page. He’s just a quarterback, man.”
But as Bagent learned the hard way Sunday, the charm of being a plucky undrafted rookie out of Division II Shepherd University only lasts so long. Like, say, three snaps, which is how long it took before he was stripped of the football in the pocket by Vikings safety Josh Metellus with linebacker Jordan Hicks returning the fumble 42 yards for a touchdown.
That miscue put the Vikings ahead 19-6 and in command of a clunky game between two struggling teams trying to out-miserable each other.
Bagent aided a 77-yard touchdown drive a little while later, scoring on a 1-yard QB sneak with 7:46 remaining to give the Bears new energy.
“We had a lot of life,” Foreman said. “Still in it. Even with all the ups and downs that had happened in that game, we still had a chance to win it.”
But then, with a chance to write a heartening new chapter to his underdog story, Bagent missed Moore by 8-10 yards on a deep shot up the left sideline that fluttered right into the thankful arms of Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr.
“That’s just a result of me underthrowing the ball,” Bagent said. “I’ve got to give my guy a chance.”
That shot play seemed to be setting up so nicely, too. First down from the Vikings 35-yard line.
“DJ Moore. One of the best receivers in the world. One-on-one,” Bagent said.
So the rookie shot his shot. He just couldn’t get enough on it. Because of course.
“That’s on me,” Bagent said. “I’ve got to fix it going forward.”
Who knows? Maybe Bagent will get his first NFL start in Week 7 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Perhaps he’ll be needed for the foreseeable future if Fields’ hand injury keeps him out for a game or two or even longer. If so, teammates are vowing to have his back.
“We have to give him confidence,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “And defensively, we have to get stops and get turnovers.”
Added linebacker T.J. Edwards: “Whoever is out there, we’re going to continue to be a confident group. That’s how you have to play. Nothing can change for us in that aspect whatsoever.”
Or maybe Fields will heal quickly, be cleared to return to practice this week and continue his all-important “franchise quarterback” test, the results of which will determine a lot about the Bears’ future.
Fields’ X-rays were negative Sunday. So there’s that.
Eventually, though, the Bears are going to need more — much more — than just some hopeful injury news to create any sort of meaningful direction.
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