It took one drive for Chicago Bears fans to start calling for quarterback Andy Dalton to be benched in favor of rookie Justin Fields.
If Bears head coach Matt Nagy hoped Chicago fans might take a wait-and-see approach to the quarterback spot, they have. They waited for the season-opener to arrive. They saw one drive of Andy Dalton. And they decided they want nothing to do with him.
After Dalton threw a red zone interception against the Rams on his first drive, fans on Twitter went straight to calling for Justin Fields to take over at quarterback.
Bears fans have no patience for Andy Dalton and want Justin Fields
Part of the frustration was seeing Dalton make exactly the kind of mistake a veteran isn’t supposed to make.
I’m done with Andy Dalton already.
— Chicago Bears Nation (@Bears__Nation) September 13, 2021
Also can’t freaking false start on 3rd & 1 and then take a timeout. Kills the whole drive. And then the INT. Already ripping my hairs out 3 minutes into the game.
The worst part here is Andy Dalton made two mistakes:
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) September 13, 2021
1) He never saw the underneath ILB that tipped the pass
2) His throw's trajectory looks like it wasn't towards a receiver either way, splitting Mooney and Monty.
The point of a vet is to *not* deal with this. Not good. https://t.co/PInSb90Psf pic.twitter.com/yAf3Y7tSCo
That wasn't a very smart decision by the veteran Andy Dalton... #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) September 13, 2021
OHHHHH. Just figured it out: Andy Dalton *also* wants Justin Fields to play.
— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) September 13, 2021
Sending in Fields for a play on the drive was almost insulting.
Justin Fields' first NFL snap in the regular season came on 2nd-and-10 from LA's 12. He completed a 9-yard pass to WR Marquise Goodwin. What happened next for the Bears? False start, timeout and then Andy Dalton gets picked off in the end zone.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) September 13, 2021
Just play the kid or don't, right?
The decision by Nagy to even start Dalton remains under fire.
It remains unbelievable that Matt Nagy - a human being with a conscious level of thought - has chosen to play Andy Dalton over Justin Fields.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) September 13, 2021
Is there anybody besides Matt Nagy who thinks the Bears should be playing Andy Dalton over Justin Fields? Does Andy Dalton even think he should be playing over Justin Fields?
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) September 13, 2021
It’s time Matt Nagy.
— jordan cornette (@jordancornette) September 13, 2021
You promised Andy Dalton would start.
He has.
Now get Fields in the damn game for good.
Bears fans want to see their first-round quarterback in action right now, not later. Dalton isn’t exactly the kind of quarterback capable of holding off the wave of excitement for Fields.
It’s a tough spot for Dalton to be in, but throwing interceptions definitely doesn’t help his case at all.