The Bears coach is searching for success in short-yardage situations.
The Chicago Bears topped the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 on Sunday and, while Justin Fields did run in a touchdown from the 3-yard line, the Bears continued to see challenges in short-yardage situations.
After the game, Bears coach Matt Eberflus talked about the need for a go-to play, such as the ‘tush-push’ in such scenarios, according to Courtney Cronin of ESPN:
“We have to do a better job with short yardage. There’s no question about that. You have to have a staple, something that you go to. It’s usually the sneak or the wedge or the rugby, whatever you’re calling that, the Philadelphia play. We’ve done that a couple times, but we need to be more effective at that. We’re looking to be more effective at that, because you need something like that where you can always go to that, and then you need some stuff that hits the perimeter, because teams will load up inside there on you, pack everybody inside and leave themselves vulnerable on the outside. I do think you need that. We certainly have that in our arsenal, too. But it just comes down to execution. It comes down to the guys executing the push play better and also the perimeter plays better.”
Fields completed 15-of-27 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the win. Those aren’t impressive numbers, but he did rush nine times for 97 yards and a score. On the season, Fields has completed 60.9% of his passes for 2,146 yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has 585 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. His 84.5 QB rating is a tick below last season’s 85.2 mark.
The Bears will likely receive the top overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft from the Carolina Panthers (from the Bryce Young trade) and will need to decide whether to draft Caleb Williams to replace Fields.