The Bears finally picked up their first win in nearly a calendar year of losses on Thursday night against the Washington Commanders in dominant fashion. Their 40-20 win on the road marked their first W since Oct. 24, 2022.
To one NFL analyst, however, the win doesn't tell him anything.
"Last night proved ... I'm not sure," Cowherd said on his show, "The Herd."
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"Can Justin Fields give us this or something that looks like this 13 times a year? I don't know ... " Cowherd said. "Last night was a breakout game for DJ Moore more than Justin Fields. That's not a knock on Justin."
Cowherd wasn't all that impressed with Justin Fields' play, despite his loaded stat sheet.
Fields threw for 282 yards, while rushing for 57. He threw four touchdowns, zero interceptions and was sacked just three times against one of the toughest defensive lines in the league. He led the offense to a 40-point game; the last of that kind was against the Jaguars in 2020.
But, Cowherd dug deeper into the statistics. He pointed out Fields' unexciting 52% completion percentage. He alluded to the fact that Moore served as a crutch for Fields and that the wide receiver did the bulk of the work for his quarterback in yards after catch (YAC).
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That's all fine and well. Bears fans know Fields isn't a finished product on the field. He needs a strong supporting cast and a playbook tailored to his strengths to succeed.
But, dare I ask, isn't that the point? Shouldn't the Bears and its fans celebrate the fact that they constructed a viable supporting cast around him? One that's good enough to beat a team by 20 points?
Cowherd recently pegged the coaching staff for failing Fields. From that vantage point, it doesn't sound like Fields is the problem. He points that out later, too, but this is where his argument reaches a confusing point.
"Every time I watch the Bears it's like 'Hey Justin! Go save us! Go make a great play!'" Cowherd said in early September. "Frenetic, out of control, very reliant on running around.
"Jordan Love has a great tutor [Matt LaFleur] to teach him what he's looking at. Justin Fields doesn't and he's on his own. That's what the Bears' offense looks like. But that's Chicago's history. They've never had a great quarterback. They've never had an all-time great receiver."
But now they have a great receiver.
Moore caught eight of Fields 10 targets for 230 yards and three touchdowns on Thursday night. Is it ignorant to celebrate Moore's performance?
I get what he's trying to say. Fields, as I mentioned before, isn't a finished product. Cowherd used the word "sustainability" as the key to unlock Fields. That's true. He needs to be more consistent.
But if you're a Bears fan, you need to take the wins where you can get them right now. Cowherd isn't telling fans anything they don't already know. Fields has a long way to go in his progress. But it's OK to celebrate the wins and the boxes he checks along the way.
And last night, contrary to Cowherd's opinion, was one of them. Maybe he didn't do it from the pocket. Maybe he needed designed runs, RPOs and a mobile pocket. But that's his game. And the Bears are finally tuning into that. That's something to be enthralled about.
He's right, though. The Bears and its fans are hoping Fields is the one who pans out for them under center. And that isn't a certainty at this point.
"Let's cross our fingers because he's the one guy in this entire organization that you can see the talent," Cowherd said. "Right? The GM, the coach, the ownership .... eh. Justin Fields you can see it.
"Can he do this time and time again? We'll see."