They came into the league together in the strong quarterback crop that dominated the first round of the 2021 National Football League draft. The New York Jets selected Zach Wilson with the second overall selection in the first round, the Chicago Bears took Justin Fields nine picks later.
This week, both might be missing from the action when the Jets host the Bears on Sunday. In Wilson’s case, the decision to sit the second-year quarterback is based on performance. Wilson has looked horrible the past couple weeks after a strong first eight weeks that had the Jets start this week only one game back of both the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins in the talented AFC East Division.
“I still expect him to get back into the starting role this season, but I just think right now he is making some fundamental mistakes that I want him to evaluate from the sidelines before he gets back behind center,” Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh said following his decision to start four-year veteran Mike White this week.
In the Bears case, Fields has elevated his Chicago team to relevance with sharp play both through the air and with his legs. Fields is listed as questionable on the injury report this week with an injured left shoulder. The line on this game indicates he won’t see action.
Fields has set some rushing records this year and while the Bears record under first-year head coach Matt Eberflus looks a lot like past seasons, they have three wins in 11 decisions and are buried in last place in the NFC North Division five games behind frontrunning Minnesota, their are signs of life in Chicago.
Their won/loss record belies the improvement in the quality of football played by the team that makes Soldier Field their home. Their last three losses, to Miami, Detroit and Atlanta, have come by a combined deficit of seven points. Right now, the point spread for Sunday’s game has the Bears getting six points in their contest against the Jets at MetLife Stadium.
If Fields isn’t able to start, backup seven-year veteran Trevor Siemian will take command of the Chicago offense. The problem with that is he doesn’t possess any of the scrambling ability that has been a staple in the Bears offense this year with Fields behind center. Thus, the generous line with Fields anticipated absence.
Which brings us back to the Jets side of this story.
They have had a solid first half of the season, winning six of their ten games, but to pin them with a line too high to expect them to cover is playing Russian Roulette with the spread.
The coach's decision to sit Wilson now before he continues to hurt his team with bad plays appears to be a good one from my perspective. I come from a day when quarterbacks were expected to have a four or five year apprenticeship behind a veteran starter. In Dallas, Roger Staubach was second string to Craig Morton, who developed into the Cowboys starter after working behind Don Meredith for multiple seasons.
For the past 20 years, we have seen quarterbacks move right into a starting job and succeed. Ben Roethlisberger did it for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts and Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.
But, there have been more young quarterbacks who have been ruined while forcing them to play through their problems instead of taking a step back. Wilson still has greatness in his talent credentials, and Saleh is doing him a huge favor in pulling him back with eyes on moving forward with him in the future.
This game relies a lot on who is available on Sunday, but the Jets laying this many points with a backup quarterback is the short straw in this matchup. And, if by chance the Bears get the services of Fields this weekend, the line is way out of whack.
Qoxhi Picks: Chicago Bears (+6) over New York Jets