Taking some hits comes with the territory for a mobile quarterback like Justin Fields, but the Bears are fired up about some of them crossing the line into being dangerous and deliberate.
Fields took eight hits on pass plays, including three sacks, in addition to whatever contact he endured on 10 running plays Sunday in the Bears’ 28-13 win over the Lions, and coach Matt Eberflus said he is “very active” in voicing objection to the NFL office and throughout the game to the officials.
“I’m always in their ear about that because protecting the quarterbacks in this league is big,” Eberflus said Monday. “If you have a guy that’s a runner, and he slides down like that, we’ve gotta protect him. . . . We’ve just gotta make sure we take care of our quarterbacks.”
Eberflus was upset about late and possibly malicious hits on Fields when the Bears and Lions played last month. Things were better Sunday, he thought, but he “wasn’t happy” about Lions linebacker Jack Campbell hitting Fields in the head well after his slide on a one-yard scramble to open the game. Fields immediately popped up and threw his hands up at the nearby official looking for a flag.
“It’s just not the right thing to do,” Eberflus said of Campbell’s hit.
Safety Jaquan Brisker went a step further, asserting that opposing coaches are instructing defenders “to do dirty stuff after the play” and said he saw Lions players “trying to mess with his hands” when they hit Fields.
“It’s obviously being taught, by the way he’s been treated the last couple of weeks — a lot of shots to the head,” Brisker said. “It is very disappointing seeing a guy like that take hits like that. And one of those hits, God forbid, could be something very bad. The league needs to get on that.”
He continued, “You can just tell the way they hit him after a play. . . . They’re just trying to do whatever they can to get him out of the game. It’s obvious.”
Draft update
The Bears have about as much at stake in the Panthers’ season as their own because they get Carolina’s upcoming first-round draft pick.
After the Panthers lost 28-6 to the Saints on Sunday, they fell to 1-12 and maintained a two-game cushion with four games left in what the Bears hope will be a path to the No. 1 overall pick.
ESPN Analytics’ latest projections gave the Bears a 95% chance of getting the No. 1 pick via the Panthers, a 98% likelihood of picking in the top two and a 99% shot at a top-three pick.
Turf talk
Anybody else notice how uncharacteristically green and healthy the grass at Soldier Field looked Sunday?
It typically has been patchy and perhaps unstable by this time of year, but it has been excellent since Eberflus and the Bears insisted on switching to Bermuda grass.
“Whoever is keeping up with the field is definitely doing a great job of handling the grass and making sure it’s good to go when we go out there,” Fields said.
He added it “definitely does” make a difference in performance to have reliable grass.
Eberflus shouted out head -groundskeeper Ken Mrock unprompted Monday.
This and that
Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue hurt his ankle against the Lions and played only 34 snaps. Eberflus said he would give an update Wednesday.
† Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who missed the Lions game with a pectoral injury, is still considered week-to-week.
† Eberflus marveled at Brisker’s 17 tackles Sunday but said Monday the coaching staff counted 18 in film review.
If the NFL changes his total to 18, it will be the most by a Bear since Jamar Williams’ 18 in 2009.
