After time off to refresh, Justin Fields says he ‘can get better at everything’ as Chicago Bears QB

Six days away from practice gave Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields time to physically recover from the beating he took last week in the loss to the Washington Commanders.

The Bears didn’t list any player on their injury report as the team returned to practice at Halas Hall on Thursday to prepare for Monday night’s game at the New England Patriots. Fields previously spoke of a left shoulder issue.

The time off also gave Fields time to assess an opening six-week stretch in which he completed 63 of 115 passes for 869 yards, four touchdowns, five interceptions and a 72.7 passer rating with 23 sacks.

“(I found) that I can play better, and I’m always going to be like that,” Fields said. “I’m a perfectionist, but it’s hard to be perfect. I can get better at everything regarding quarterback play.”

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Fields declined to go into detail about the evaluation he received from coach Matt Eberflus, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, and Eberflus repeatedly has pointed to “footwork and timing of the passing game” as areas that need improving without a lot of elaboration.

But Fields said one area of discussion was about how the quarterback can keep the offensive line’s collapse on one play from affecting him mentally on later plays when he has a clean pocket. Fields thought it was an issue against the Commanders, who had five sacks and 12 quarterback hits.

“I felt like later in the game, like my internal clock was speeding up a little bit just because of maybe the past pockets that I would get in the game,” Fields said. “So I just told them if they feel like I’m getting antsy and maybe leaving the pocket too early when it’s there, just remind me to reset — like reset after every play. Because there are going be times when I do have time and I can sit in there.

“But that’s definitely a big thing, just making sure that just because they got back here fast last play or two, three plays ago, doesn’t mean they are going to get back fast (this time). So just playing every play. Every play is going to be different.”

Better and more consistent offensive line play would certainly help, a popular topic of conversation this week, though Eberflus declined to address potential changes up front.

“All I know is up front we have to do the best we can do to keep him clean because as we’ve seen multiple times, we keep him clean and we give him a rush lane to sneak out, he’s a very special player,” Bears center/guard Lucas Patrick said. “And we need to live up to the standard we have in our room and really help him be the elite player that he is.

“You can’t change my mind that that guy is not a future stud in this league. The way he throws it, the way he’s consistent, the way he runs, just his positive personality. He’s a great dude to have in the locker room, doesn’t really get down amongst us. He may say things, but he’s a great leader, and we’ve just got to be better for him because he deserves it.”

After the loss to the Commanders, Fields expressed his frustrations in his postgame news conference, saying he was tired of being told the Bears are “almost there.”

The honesty of the quote made it a talking point, but Fields indicated Thursday he didn’t think it was any big revelation.

“I expect every player on the team to be frustrated after we lost,” Fields said. “It wasn’t a rock bottom thing or anything like that. It was just I’m not happy that we lost the game.

“I have the same frustration after every loss. I don’t like losing.”

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Eberflus and Fields had a long conversation the morning after the game as Eberflus tried to make sure the quarterback reset and focused on what’s ahead. Fields said Eberflus talked with him about their roles as leaders of the team and later added the coach has tried to keep a positive vibe with the players.

Playing the Bill Belichick-led Patriots on the road on “Monday Night Football” might not be the easiest venue to renew hope.

The Patriots pass defense is in the top 15 in the league in several categories, including passing yards allowed per game (218.8, 14th) and per play (6.25, eighth), interceptions (six, tied for seventh) and sacks (17, tied for seventh). The Patriots shut out the one-win Detroit Lions in Week 5 and held the Cleveland Browns to 15 points in Week 6.

“(Belichick) is able to do what he’s done over the course of the length of his career — take away a guy’s strength and make him play left-handed,” Eberflus said. “That’s his whole motto.

“Certainly on defense they have a lot of personnel that they bring at you, and they put a lot of different guys on the field at certain times. They have a lot of different packages, so you’ve just got to be ready for everything, and obviously he’s done a nice job with that over the years.”

Fields was ready to get back to work to attack it.

“Just got to work harder,” Fields said. “That’s the only thing I know how to do, so just keep going.”