Did NFL Twitter overreact to Justin Fields’ preseason debut for the Bears?
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had NFL Twitter rushing to crown him after an impressive debut in the preseason.
Justin Fields was all anyone on NFL Twitter could talk about on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears rookie made his preseason debut against the Dolphins with impressive results.
Going 14-of-20 for 142 yards and a touchdown through the air with another on the ground, Fields raked in high praise from all corners.
NFL Twitter fell over themselves to praise Justin Fields
Stars from other sports like Dwayne Wade and LeBron James are in Fields corner.
Justin Fields! pic.twitter.com/9VzQ3Zjvo7
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 14, 2021
Justin Fields is so SPECIAL man!! Keep going Young 👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 14, 2021
The rest of the league was on notice.
I’ve seen Broncos fans, Pats fans and Jets fans triggered on the TL. Justin Fields making a lot of people feel insecure right now.
— Khari Thompson (@kdthompson5) August 14, 2021
Justin Fields is living rent free in soooo many other fan base's minds.
— Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. (@wiltfongjr) August 14, 2021
It is worth noting a lot of teams turned down the opportunity to pick up Fields.
It's still baffling that Justin Fields wasn't the second quarterback drafted in April.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) August 14, 2021
Tried to tell you. A lot of people overthought this.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) August 14, 2021
This year's NFL draft process did Justin Fields dirty. Good on the Bears for cutting through all the bull and investing in a major talent, who will start sooner rather than later.
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) August 14, 2021
The Broncos took a corner instead of Justin Fields.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) August 14, 2021
Maybe it’ll prove smart, but I thought it was dubious then, and today only furthers that opinion
The Bears are feeling pretty great about their decision to trade up for him.
The #Bears after watching Justin Fields dominate in the preseason pic.twitter.com/Zo58QLRYIn
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) August 14, 2021
It being Twitter, there were some more bold statements going around.
I've seen enough.
— cryptic incognito (@CrypticNoHoes) August 14, 2021
Justin Fields will be a top 3 QB in NFL history.
Justin Fields is a day one starter in the NFL.
— Ross Pins (@chisportsross) August 14, 2021
Give all the trophies to Justin Fields
— carl (@barstoolcarl) August 14, 2021
Justin Fields is Andy Dalton's best chance to win a playoff game
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) August 14, 2021
I love Justin Fields more than all my family and friends combined
— Kevin Hargrave (@KSHargrave) August 14, 2021
Bears fans and many others were ready to see Fields take over the starting job immediately.
https://twitter.com/TheUndefeated/status/1426627580178964492
Justin Fields getting his fair share of ‘QB1’ chants from #Bears fans ahead of this next drive. I might be one of those fans.
— Jacob Infante (@jacobinfante24) August 14, 2021
Is it all an overreaction?
The short answer: Yes.
Justin Fields first preseason game:
— Julius P. Scott (@TheFifthTop) August 14, 2021
14-20 142 yds 1TD, 5 car 33 yds 1TD
Mitch Trubisky first preseason game:
18-25 166 yds 1TD, 3 car 38 yds
Tread extremely carefully #BearDown, is all I’m going to say (*checks Fields Twitter mentions* ahhhh it’s too late).
Justin Fields very well may be a star for the Bears but he’s a 1st round pick the Bears traded up to get besting 3rd string defenders; let’s pump the brakes a touch
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) August 14, 2021
Trubisky was 18 of 25 for 166 in his preseason debut too https://t.co/B4cTn9fR0G
The long answer: Fields was clearly underrated coming into the NFL Draft. He should have been taken earlier based on his college production and talent level. However, a preseason debut against the Dolphins’ second-stringers doesn’t really mean much.
If Fields goes on to become a great quarterback, that preseason game will be a footnote of very little importance. If he goes on to struggle, that performance will be yet another in a long line of preseason paper tigers.
It’s the same with Mac Jones’ bright start for the Patriots. And it’ll apply to the debuts of other top quarterbacks like Trey Lance, Zach Wilson and Trevor Lawrence. The preseason isn’t real.
Next. Justin Fields proves Bears wasted money on Andy Dalton. dark