Bears should give Justin Fields a chance to break Lamar Jackson’s record in Week 18

Not much has gone right for the Chicago Bears in 2022 (unless you believe they were tanking for a top pick). The lone bright spot has been the development of quarterback Justin Fields.

While his passing stats are still wallowing in “backup quarterback” territory, watching his film is a delight. People who have played football at the highest levels like Kurt Warner, Trent Dilfer, and J.T. O’Sullivan have lauded his growth as a passer all season long. He’s trending in the right direction and seems primed to take the kind of third-year leap that Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa did once their team gave them a good offensive line and weapons at wide receiver.

But carrying the franchise on his back week after week has taken a toll, and Fields is clearly not at 100%. He looked sluggish in Week 17 against the Detroit Lions. Even as he had (another!) 60-yard run, he didn’t seem to have the same burst we’ve seen in the past, getting tackled at the five instead of taking it to the paint. He took seven sacks and became the most-sacked quarterback in franchise history, as well.

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Should the Bears sit Justin Fields in Week 18?

Some analysts and fans rightfully believe that the Bears should sit Fields for the meaningless final game of the season. Not only would it keep him from risking a truly devastating injury, but most Bears fans are also hoping for a loss to guarantee, at worst, the second-overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

I agree. However, Justin Fields is only 64 yards shy of breaking Lamar Jackson’s season record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. After the Week 16 loss to Buffalo, Fields expressed interest in getting the record in a season that hasn’t amounted to much otherwise. And we all know Fields could very well cross that threshold on the first play of the game, even if he’s not at full speed.

So if Fields is healthy and he wants to play on Sunday, the coaches should at least give him a fair chance to break the rushing record. Let him start the game, draw up some runs for him over the course of a few drives, and see what happens. If he gets the record in the first quarter, great. Shut him down. If he doesn’t get it by halftime, shut him down at that point and congratulate him on one hell of a season.

The future is bright for Justin Fields and we all want to see him stay healthy. But I think it’d be a disservice to him as a competitor to not give him a shot at breaking an NFL record that would likely stand for many years.