Justin Fields didn’t expect to get the nod this soon. At least not according to the plan laid out by Matt Nagy and the coaching staff. They wanted the bring the rookie quarterback along slowly. Similar to Patrick Mahomes back in 2017. Unfortunately, that plan went out the window when Andy Dalton suffered a bone bruise to his knee. Just like that, Fields is the starter going into Week 3.
His first opponent is an interesting one. The Cleveland Browns. A team that was the worst in the NFL just a few years ago. Now they are considered a Super Bowl contender. It will make for a fascinating first challenge for Fields as he tries to put his grasp on the starting job permanently. On the surface, this may seem like a simple twist of fate. However, those who understand a bit of history will realize the development is a favorable omen both for the Bears franchise and the quarterback himself.
Here is why.
Chicago sports always find epic moments against Cleveland
Michael Jordan delivered The Shot in 1989
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People weren’t sure who Jordan or the Chicago Bulls really were in the late 1980s. While they’d made the playoffs before, they hadn’t won any big series. Going into the 1989 playoffs, most didn’t think that would change. The 6th seed Bulls had to play the 3rd seed Cleveland Cavaliers. A team that had swept them in the regular season 6-0. Somehow the Bulls battled to a 2-2 series tie, but things looked bleak in the decisive Game 5. Cleveland led 100-99 with three seconds left. Chicago would have one shot to win it. Jordan got the ball, dribbled left, and went up at the foul line. The ball went in. That was the birth of a legend, and the Bulls began their ascent to becoming a dynasty two years later.
Mike Brown had his second walkoff pick-six in 2001
Ask any Bears fan which season is special to them and plenty of them are bound to reference 2001. The team hadn’t made the playoffs in seven years. Their starting QB was injured early. Yet somehow the team kept winning. Fans didn’t realize how special the year was though until weeks 7 and 8. In the first game, Chicago beat the favored San Francisco 49ers in a crazy comeback that saw safety Mike Brown deliver the knockout in overtime with a game-winning pick-six. Then a week later, the Cleveland Browns came in and led 21-7 with 30 seconds left. Chicago scored two touchdowns in 28 seconds to force overtime. Then Brown, again, caught a deflected pass and scored the winning touchdown.
The Cubs won the World Series in Cleveland in 2016
A team that waited 108 years for a championship had to go through a team that hadn’t won one since before the Korean War. Things looked bleak for the Cubs when they fell behind in the series 3-1. Then? Magic happened. They tied the series and went to Cleveland for Game 7. Surviving multiple setbacks, they battled into extra innings where they took an 8-7 lead. There Kris Bryant delivered the throw that landed the franchise an unforgettable title.
Justin Fields also gets to start where he built his fame
If anybody has an appreciation for Ohio fans, it’s Fields. They embraced him from the beginning when he transferred to Ohio State back in 2019. He played just a two-hour drive away from Cleveland for two years, becoming a superstar in college football and perhaps the greatest quarterback in program history. He is beloved across the entire state and there are assumptions even Browns fans will be cheering for him on Sunday.
Everything about this feels like fate. Justin Fields doesn’t get a chance at Georgia, so he transfers to Ohio State. There he thrives. Yet rather than going top 5 in the draft like many expected, he falls to the 11th pick where the Bears move up to get him. A few months later, nobody is expecting him to start right away. Then Daltons injures his knee in the second game, paving the way for the rookie to get his first NFL start in Cleveland. It is difficult to see that and not believe the football gods are at work.
