Bears rookie QB Justin Fields to start vs. Detroit Lions

The Lions will have to face another rookie quarterback on Sunday.

The Detroit Lions will be facing rookie quarterback Justin Fields on Sunday. The Chicago Bears announced on Saturday evening that starting quarterback Andy Dalton has been downgraded from questionable to doubtful with his knee injury and that Fields will take his place behind center.

Last week, Fields—the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft—got his first career start in the NFL and just about everything went wrong for the former Ohio State Buckeye. Fields completed just 6-of-20 passes for 68 yards and no scores against the Cleveland Browns. Worse yet, he was sacked nine times for a total of 67 yards, leaving Chicago’s offense with just a single net yard of passing offense.

This won’t be the first time the Lions have seen a quarterback from the 2021 class. In Week 1, the Lions faced a handful of snaps against the third overall pick in Trey Lance, who completed a touchdown on his only pass attempt of the game.

Earlier in the week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said while he didn’t know which quarterback Chicago was going to start this week, he felt like the team was prepared for any outcome.

“Honestly, I have zero confidence knowing who they’re going to start,” Campbell said. “There again, I think we’re prepared for whoever they want to roll out.”

And while Fields had some historically bad numbers last week, Campbell said he saw some promising things from his Week 4 opponent late in the game.

“I would say there were signs of life at the end of that tape when you watch him,” Campbell said. “Some of things where, now, maybe it wasn’t always the right read, but he’s pulling the trigger, he’s not waiting in the pocket, he’s trying to diagnose quicker, they’re getting him out on the perimeter. And so, there were some things to where, okay, they probably gathered some information on things that can help him. Those are the things we’ve got to be ready for.”