Justin Fields Rushing for a Milestone

The Bears would rather not have Justin Fields run much but if he has to scramble against the second-ranked Eagles defense he could become a member of an elite group.

Justin Fields returned from illness Thursday for a full Bears practice, ready to pass or run Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

It's not exactly the desire of the Bears coaching staff to see him running after his separated shoulder, but the cold, hard facts are the Eagles are No. 1 in sacks and the best shot at first downs sometimes Sunday might be his scrambling.

With it, could come a milestone. 

Fields is 95 yards from hitting 1,000 rushing yards. The only other quarterbacks to reach 1,000 yards rushing were Lamar Jackson in 2019 and 2020 and Michael Vick in 2006.

"That would be crazy with Michael Vick, me growing up in Atlanta," Fields said. "I remember I was 8, 9 years old. I had his cleats. So that would just be crazy kind of just full cirle. I mean, it would be awesome.

"And Lamar, everybody knows he's a great quarterback, a dynamic play-maker. Having my name with those two guys would be great for sure."

Fields normally doesn't even get excited about records and especially rushing.

He's been trying to focus more on passing and the Bears' last game was a good example of what he can do with his arm, with a season's best 254 rushing yards and two TDs.

He only had to run six times in that game, a season low but the milestone is one he'll watch closely.

"Like, I think I've said this before but I really wasn't even this good of a rusher in college," Fields said. "I didn't run this much in college. This rushing thing just kind of picked up this year.

"Yeah, but it's definitely awesome. It's an honor for sure and I'm excited to be able to hopefully reach that goal."

It wasn't like Fields was an immobile pocket passer at Ohio State and as a freshman at Georgia. He did run for 1,133 yards on 260 attempts but averaged just 4.4 yards. This year he's averaging a league-high 7.1 yards per run with 128 attempts for his 905 yards.

"Yes, he’s a phenomenal athlete, the things we've seen him do on the field have been awesome," Getsy said. "They've been really cool to watch and be a part of.

"But I think for me, the bigger things is how do we grow him to be the leader that he wants to become and the player that he wants to become."

That would be a better passer.

Fields has a 95.9 passer rating at 7.44 yards per attempt over the last six games and has completed 67.39%. In his first six games in Getsy's offense, he completed 54.8% with a passer rating of 72.7. The passer rating and completion percentage were below what he did as a rookie. So the turnaround has been drastic and results from knowing the offense and the pro game better.

“With my overall understanding of the game, this offense, I just can’t describe it," Fields said. "Just a certain way of like, you got to kind of feel the flow of the game.

"It's hard to explain it but once you feel it, I don't know. I'll try to put up some words at home and maybe explain it to (media) one day. But it's kind of just like a feel to where you are just sitting back there and you are just comfortable with the game and with the offense and how the game is going."

It didn't occur in one game or sequence of plays.

"I think it's just like a little by little, bit by bit, more by more every game," Fields said. "Last game was like more than I have felt it before and hopefully it’s the same way this week.

"You just kind of have that feeling in the game, just get in a rhythm and get it going from there."

He hopes to be feeling it again Sunday, even against the second-ranked defense in the league. Getting the pass blocking will be key.

"Like I’m going to try to get back to it to where I was last week and how I felt in that game and my calmness and just how I felt in the game," Fields said. "Just trying to get back to that point and just improving and trying to put up more points each and every game.”

If not, then it's time to scramble for a rushing milestone.

TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS THROUGH SI TICKETS

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven