Through four games of the 2022 campaign, Justin Fields ranks last in a host of quarterback stats.
The Chicago Bears quarterback is 32nd among 32 qualified quarterbacks with 16.8 attempts per game, a 50.7 completion percentage, 117.8 passing yards per game, a 6.0 interception percentage and a 58.7 passer rating -- no other qualified QB has a sub-70 passer rating in 2022.
Despite the struggles, Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy chooses to see the positives.
"I don't think he's had a rough month," Getsy said via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. "I think he's gotten better each week. I think he's growing tremendously. And you know, it's not easy. We're playing good football teams, and it's not easy to become the level of quarterback that he wants to become, and I know that he can become.
"The important thing is that we stay focused, keep our eyes on that progress or on that process and we make sure we get better each and every week, and I believe that we're in that phase."
Fields has yet to have a 100-plus passer rating in a game in his career (his career-high passer rating came in his only start versus Minnesota -- Sunday's opponent -- in Week 15, 2021, 285 pass yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 96.6 passer rating).
The Bears QB has a giveaway in 11 straight games (longest active streak in NFL). Only Eli Manning has a longer streak in the last 10 seasons (14 games).
Fields has struggled to process quickly under pressure behind a sieve offensive line. He's been sacked 16 times (tied for second-most through four games) and been pressured on 44.6 percent of dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats (second-most).
The Bears rank last in the NFL in passing yards per game in 2022 (97.5). No team has averaged fewer than 110 passing YPG in a season since 1980. Only four teams have averaged fewer than 125 passing YPG in a season since 1980, and none of them won more than five games that season. Chicago has 34 completions and 67 pass attempts through the first four games. It's the fewest completions and pass attempts in the first four games of a season by any team since the 1982 Patriots had 26 completions on 60 pass attempts.
It's not all on the quarterback. The front office didn't exactly surround Fields with weapons or great protection. It's a point not lost on Getsy.
"We have a lot more than just evaluating Justin Fields going on right now," Getsy said. "That's what everybody wants to evaluate -- the quarterback all the time -- and I get it. It's all good. This is a process for all 11. There's so many factors going into what's going on around Justin, and to just sit here and say, 'Oh, we're only focused on is this guy going to be the guy or not,' that's literally not even on my mind or I don't think that's on anybody's mind in this building.
"We're just in the process of getting better. How can we get each guy in this building to get better every and every week? As long as we continue to get better, then we're going in the right direction."
The Bears will try to find that right direction Sunday against a Vikings defense that ranks 26th in passing defense and 23rd against the rush.
