Justin Fields and Luke Getsy's futures still up in air as Bears arrive at end of long road

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Sunday's hope-inspiring win over the Atlanta Falcons at Soldier Field was a moment for the Bears to soak in how far they've come since their 0-4 start and also dream about where they can go.

But while the future is bright, the Bears still don't fully know who will be along for the ride.

In what could be his final start at Soldier Field as a Bear, quarterback Justin Fields was sensational. The 24-year-old quarterback went 20-for-32 for 268 yards and one touchdown while adding 45 yards and a score on the ground. He was accurate and on time as a passer and sprinkled in the electric plays with his legs, which only he is capable of engineering.

Since returning from his thumb injury, Fields has thrown for 1,213 yards, five touchdowns, and three interceptions while completing 60.42 percent of his passes. Fields has also rushed for 393 yards and three scores. Two of those interceptions came on end-of-half and end-of-game Hail Marys, so, for all intents and purposes, Fields has thrown just one pick in six starts.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said that Sunday's performance was what the Bears have been looking for from Fields. It was a deadly efficient outing with a perfect blend between the run and pass.

Sunday's game ended with fans chanting, "We Want Fields!" as the clock ran down. On a day the Bears officially secured the No. 1 pick, Fields gave general manager Ryan Poles something to think about as he ponders his quarterback options going forward.

But as good as Fields was Sunday, one game won't change the calculus that will impact the big picture.

"I would say the consistency piece," Eberflus said Monday when asked if the Bears have seen enough games like Sunday's from Fields. "Just continue to do it. Stack another game just like that, where you have that running and the passing, the accuracy, the touchdowns, the no turnovers. And just consistency at that, is really what it is. Let’s stack two like that. And that would be a good start."

Eberflus applauded the fans for their support of Fields but wouldn't entertain any questions about the quarterback's long-term future with the Bears.

"We’re just gonna look at his performances right now, and we’ll talk about all those big-picture questions after the season, with Ryan and myself and we’ll see where it goes from there," Eberflus said Monday. "But we love where his progress is. He’s been more consistent. We like what he’s done the last six games in terms of the turnovers, the sacks, touchdowns, taking care of the football. Throwing the ball down the field. Those are all positive things, and again, we’ll assess that as we get going here in the near future."

Fields isn't the only member of the Bears' offensive fabric whose future is undecided.

Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been under the microscope all season. The outside view of Getsy's play-calling is that positive plays are a product of Fields, and negative plays are poor scheme, design, etc -- aka a Getsy issue.

But Getsy dialed up a good game plan to beat Atlanta's top-10 defense.

Without Darnell Mooney and with Cole Kmet limited, the Bears' passing attack was expected to be hampered Sunday.

But Getsy crafted a game plan that moved DJ Moore around to get him favorable matchups, including a season-high 19 snaps out of the slot.

The result? The Bears' third-highest passing total of the season.

Like Fields, Getsy has been stacking positive games and improving as a play-caller.

"There's obviously the big chunk plays that we had yesterday," Eberflus said Monday of Getsy's game plan. "Those are really good designs. Right? Those are good plays putting our players in position, right? The players that make the big plays. DJ is one of those guys. You've got to be able to put those guys in position. You've got to be able to have some checks and adjustments based on the coverages to get into the right play, and some of those are just run-it plays, and again, those are plays that work well, and that is a credit to Luke.

"It's getting better, right," Eberflus said of Getsy's growth as a play-caller. "It certainly was really good yesterday. I thought guys stepped up. Like [Robert Tonyan] stepped up really well and did a nice job. And the players really stepped up well too. And again, it was a well-called game as well."

As with Fields, Eberflus said that all decisions about the future will be made after their end-of-season evaluations.

Fields and Getsy have grown together over the past two years. Fields pointed to the continuity and comfort in the system as a reason why things have improved this season for the Bears.

After starting 0-4, the Bears now are 7-5 in their last 12 and have won five straight games at home. It's a drastic turnaround that has almost certainly put Eberflus on solid ground with the organization and could be what leads Poles to bring the entire group back for what would be a 2024 season with massive expectations.

But those are decisions for another day.

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