The Chicago Bears’ 2021 season will come to an end on Sunday when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. On Thursday, the team announced the rookie quarterback Justin Fields tested positive for COVID and is likely to miss the season finale against the Vikings. Fields’ testing positive and potentially missing the game, is one of many setbacks Chicago faced at the quarterback position.

#Bears roster move:
We have placed QB Justin Fields on Reserve/COVID-19.

— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) January 6, 2022

Chicago’s Original Plan At The Quarterback Position Didn’t Last Long

At the start of the 2021 season, head coach Matt Nagy’s initial plan was to have veteran Andy Dalton serve as the Bears’ starting quarterback while gradually working Fields into the offense by giving him snaps in each game. Dalton was supposed to remain Chicago’s starting quarterback until the team was out of playoff contention or when the team’s first-round rookie quarterback demonstrated that he was ready to play. Nagy’s plan only lasted until the second quarter of the Bears’ week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals when the veteran quarterback injured his knee after scrambling for a first down.

Dalton’s injury forced Fields to fully take over at the quarterback position as he finished the game against the Bengals. The rookie was then named the starter for Chicago’s week 3 game against the Cleveland Browns, in which he was sacked nine times and passed for only 68 yards in a 26-6 loss. Although Fields helped the Bears’ to back-to-back wins over the Detroit Lions and Las Vegas Raiders, the rookie quarterback still struggled at times and would continue to struggle in several key games to come.

Justin Fields has been sacked 9 times. The most in a game since 2015. Embarrassing.

Definitely not good for his development. No way you can evaluate his play either. Just brutal.

You gotta fire someone after this performance, right?

— Dave (@runbackdave) September 26, 2021

Fields started back-to-back games against Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which the Bears lost both games. Chicago’s rookie quarterback and the offense struggled significantly in both games. Against the Packers, Fields was sacked four times, threw a costly interception, and the Bears’ offense failed to score on five consecutive drives. Against the Buccaneers, the rookie was intercepted three times and looked mentally defeated late in the game.

Following the game against the Buccaneers, Fields began to play better at quarterback in the next few games. Against the San Francisco 49ers, the rookie passed and rushed for a touchdown while generating 278 yards of total offense. Fields’ best game this year came in Week 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. Chicago’s rookie quarterback would pass for 291 yards, including a touchdown in the final minute of the game to give the Bears the lead.

Bears take the lead! 👀

Justin Fields hits Darnell Mooney for the 16-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining.pic.twitter.com/ZJcDNmY0HM

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 9, 2021

Chicago Received More Bad Luck When It Appeared Fields Was Finally Ready

Following the Bears’ last-second loss to the Steelers, it appeared that Fields was finally comfortable at the quarterback position. The momentum was brought to a halt when the rookie suffered a rib injury that knocked him out of the week 11 game against the Ravens. Although Dalton threw a last-minute touchdown to give the Bears the lead, Chicago’s defense would surrender a game-winning touchdown to Baltimore. The former Pro Bowl quarterback would start the next two games for Chicago, including a 33-22 loss in which the quarterback threw four interceptions and suffered a hand injury.

Fields would return in week 14 for a Sunday Night matchup against the Packers. Despite the Bears leading 27-21 at halftime, the Packers would win 45-30. Since week 14, Chicago’s rookie quarterback has only played one more game, a loss to the Vikings in which the Bears’ offense did not score a touchdown until the final play of the game.

Fields answers back.

Damiere Byrd goes 54 YARDS for the @ChicagoBears touchdown! #DaBears

📺: #CHIvsGB on NBC
📱: https://t.co/ptqAMuLpIh pic.twitter.com/4qS3nfKpzz

— NFL (@NFL) December 13, 2021

Although the Bears have won their last two games with two different quarterbacks in Dalton and Nick Foles, Fields has missed several games that would have provided crucial experience to close out his rookie season. Sunday’s game against the Vikings is another example of the first-year quarterback being unable to catch a break as he was cleared of his ankle injury on Wednesday only to test positive for COVID on Thursday.

Jimmy Graham hauls it in for a touchdown on 3rd and 14! #DaBears pic.twitter.com/lDHO41rHId

— Pro Football Culture (@proftblculture) December 26, 2021

Fields’ rookie season appears to have been wasted given his early struggles of this season, followed by his inability to stay healthy towards the end. The 11th overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft will finish with a 2-8 record as a starter and will have thrown ten interceptions. Fields will have missed five of the Bears’ last seven games, in which he could have improved on his statistics immensely.

In an ideal situation, Nagy would have had Dalton start until week 8 or 9 before making Fields the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. Furthermore, when the rookie quarterback appeared to finally be settling in at the position, he couldn’t stay healthy. With the unfortunate luck at the quarterback position, the performance at the position has been even worse for Nagy. The head coach will likely be let go on Monday due to Chicago’s failure to make the playoffs and his inability to get the best output from his quarterbacks and the offense.

Bears offensive coordinator Bill Lazor on what he wants Justin Fields to take away from this season⤵️ pic.twitter.com/vm2Saj3Msb

— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) January 6, 2022

Chicago’s season will end Sunday without much excitement as their most significant player in Fields will miss the game. Dalton will start for the Bears in his final game before entering free agency again in the offseason. The 2021 season will be remembered as a missed opportunity due to the injuries and inconsistent play at the quarterback position, which resulted in missing the playoffs and a head coach being fired.