The Bears would be assured the first or second pick in the draft if they lose Sunday against the Lions and in their ensuing season finale against the Vikings, but quarterback Justin Fields is preoccupied with finding some late success in an otherwise dreary season.
As the Bears sit 3-12 with eight consecutive losses, Fields sees value in steering out of the slump.
“Winning this week and winning the last week of the season would be great momentum going into the offseason,” he said Wednesday. “The amount of work we put in and just the attitude of everybody in the building, just that positive mindset. … Just the work that we put in during the week and it paying off with a win, that’d definitely be huge.”
Fields has been playing through nagging issues with his left shoulder since separating it in Week 11 against the Falcons, but missed just one game. He also went to the sideline late against the Bills on Saturday after a player stepped on his foot, but he and coach Matt Eberflus said it’s not an issue.
“Feeling good, yeah,” Fields said. “t was just swollen for a couple days, bleeding a little bit, but it’s fine.”
Despite the Bears’ personnel instability, Fields has progressed throughout his second season. His completion percentage (62.3), touchdown percentage (5.4), interception percentage (3.4) and passer rating (88.3) all have improved over his rookie stats. He also became the third quarterback in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards and is 195 yards away from matching Lamar Jackson’s record of 1,206.