FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons heavily scouted the quarterbacks eligible for the 2021 NFL draft.
Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Trey Lance were taken with the first three picks. The Falcons held the fourth pick and passed on Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Alabama’s Mac Jones. The Falcons elected to take Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.
Fields, who also played at Harrison High and Georgia, went 11th overall to the Bears.
The Falcons (4-6) are set to host Fields and the Bears (3-7) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
After studying how the Baltimore Ravens use quarterback Lamar Jackson, the Bears have unlocked a nice offensive plan for Fields, who leads the league in rushing first downs with 48. He’s rushed for 325 yards and three touchdowns in the Bears’ past two games.
“I have been so pumped watching it,” said former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, an Amazon Prime “Thursday Night Football” analyst. “I didn’t know. I had no idea he was that athletic, that he was that good of a runner.”
Fields has completed 122 of 207 passes (58.9%) for 1,489 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has a passer rating of 86.4. He tossed a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown in the Bears’ 31-30 loss to the Lions on Sunday.
Fitzpatrick said a lot of young quarterbacks decide to scramble because of their uncertainty in reading defenses.
“There are a lot of athletic quarterbacks coming into the league, and it’s part of their game,” Fitzpatrick said. “You see as guys get older maybe less scrambling and maybe more getting out of the pocket to make big plays down the field. We have been so happy with the offense in Chicago the last (few) weeks and with what it looks like.”
With Fields leading the way, the Bears rank No. 1 in rushing offense, at 201.7 yards per game.
“He’s different, his second system he’s already been in, in the NFL,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “I think a lot of times people are so quick to judge one way or the other. There’s a lot of things that have to go into it for a guy to be very successful.”
Fields was 2-8 as a starter in his rookie season, and coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace were fired. Pace now is a senior personnel executive with the Falcons.
“I think what the Bears have done, is they’ve found an identity, they have a formula right now,” Smith said. “You see what the numbers are running the football as well as anybody. He’s a huge part of that. Whether it’s designed runs or you get into a game like New England when they get those third downs, and he was able to break those tackles. He’s a hard guy to bring down.”
Fields also is getting better at extending plays and breaking down defenses.
“You certainly see his confidence growing,” Smith said. “He’s strong, ... and he’s probably the strongest guy they’ve got in the backfield, taking into account the running backs.”
Fields will challenge the Falcons’ run defense. After giving up 232 yards rushing to the Panthers, the Falcons dropped 10 spots, from eighth in rushing defense to 18th at 119.4 yards per game.
“So, he’s doing a nice job, and we’ve got to make sure we tackle well,” Smith said. “We’ve got to clearly stop the run, not just him, but their traditional runs as well.”
After trading defensive end Robert Quinn and linebacker Roquan Smith, the Bears’ defense has gotten younger.
Jack Sanborn, an undrafted rookie from Wisconsin, is starting. He led the Bears with 12 tackles against the Lions.
Defensive tackle Justin Jones, a former South Cobb High and N.C. State standout, starts along with rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson, who made his first start against the Lions. Robinson was a fifth-round pick from Miami (Ohio) who had a strong Senior Bowl.
“They play hard like you’d expect from a (Bears coach) Matt Eberflus defense,” Smith said. “All of his defenses (play hard). They did (when Eberflus was defensive coordinator) in Indianapolis. They’ve been in a lot of close games, as well, and those guys have been fighting up front.”
Bears safeties Eddie Jackson and rookie Jaquan Brisker anchor the secondary. Jackson leads the Bears in tackles, with 70, and has four interceptions. The two-time Pro Bowl player and one-time All-Pro has 10 career forced fumbles.
The hard-hitting Brisker was taken in the second round (48th overall) and ranks second on the team with 62 tackles and has an interception.
“He does a good job of reading the quarterback’s eyes,” Smith said of Jackson. “He’s got experience. He’s got instincts playing deep, and that’s why he’s been a productive player in the NFL.”
The Bears have lost six of their past seven games. The lone win was a 33-14 victory at New England on Oct. 24.
For more content about the Atlanta Falcons
On Facebook at Atlanta Falcons News Now
On Instagram at DorlandoLed
Atlanta Falcons coverage on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Bow Tie Chronicles
Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 vs. Chicago, 1 p.m.
Nov. 27 at Washington, 1 p.m.
Dec. 4 vs. Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 at New Orleans, TBD
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
About the Author
