Matt Nagy, Justin Fields on limited usage of Fields in Bears opener

As expected, Andy Dalton got the start and the majority of snaps at quarterback for the Chicago Bears during week one. Rookie Justin Fields attempted two passes in the game and had one rushing attempt. Fields impressed in the very limited action that he saw, but that didn’t change the gameplan for the Bears. Head coach Matt Nagy said that the team had a few designed spots to get Fields in the game, and that they weren’t going to drift away from that plan. The Los Angeles Rams ultimately won the game 34-14.

Nagy was impressed with what he saw from Fields

Fields completed both of his passes for 10 yards. He also ran for his first career NFL touchdown from three yards out. Nagy came into the game with a plan for Fields and came away happy with what he saw.

“Yeah, it was hard to tell if we knew exactly how many snaps he was going to get but again, once you get behind like we did and you get back a few scores, that’s when you get into the two minute-mode,” Nagy said to reporters after the game. “That’s probably why there was a little bit less but who knows? I think the times he got in there that he did well [it] being his first game.

“Andy did a good job, too, of helping extend some of those drives and us going through that whole deal of how it’s going to go but we’ll continue to keep growing with that stuff and seeing what we want to do with that. And again, I go back to that touchdown run. Justin did a great job and then early in the game on the first throw too. Going back and just watching the film in general regardless of Justin or Andy to see where we are.”

In addition to impressing on the field, Fields was active on the Bears’ sideline in the loss, which caught the attention of Nagy.

“The very first play when he went out there and was able to make a throw, that was an RPO. He made a decision to throw the ball off of a look that we had. So right there to start the game, I thought that was great. He was involved on the sideline. And then when we got down into the redzone at times, we had a couple of things in for him that worked and some that didn’t work. But when he got down in the red zone, he some great things there too. So we got to keep having grow and keep staying positive but he’s certainly a weapon.”

Nagy: We stuck to our plan regarding Fields

Dalton completed 27 of his 38 passes for 206 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. Despite Dalton seeing some struggles, along with some excitement from Fields, the Bears did not stray away from the plan coming in.

“No, we had the plan and we stuck to our plan. We knew where and when we were going to use him and we stuck to that. We’ll see where that goes and how we do it. I think we all understand for us strategically we’ll see where we go with that without giving anything away”

Fields is glad to have gotten some game experience

Like Nagy, Fields knew coming into the game that there were a small number of plays set for him. The gameplan was for Dalton to be the quarterback, and Fields would come in and try to provide a spark in limited spots. That was exactly the case, but the former Ohio State star was glad to have seen live action in the NFL for the first time. Fields saw five snaps for the Bears.

“I came into the game not expecting a certain amount of snaps. I was just ready to play whenever coach called my name. So I wasn’t expecting a certain amount of snaps at all.

“You get a feel for the atmosphere. See how fast those guys are coming. It’s different behind the o-line and d-line and stuff like that; so it’s different when you’re actually on the field rather than being on the sideline. So you just kinda get that experience in there and just being out there and getting used to the speed and stuff.”