Bills at Bears: Justin Fields as Lamar Jackson-Like Challenge?

Conventional wisdom says that a Buffalo strategy here would be to defend fields has the Bills have before defended Lamar Jackson.

The increasingly dynamic play of Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is a centerpiece storyline of today's Christmas Eve outing for the Buffalo Bills, and conventional wisdom says that a Buffalo strategy here would be to defend fields has the Bills have before defended Lamar Jackson.

At least on the record, though, Bills coach Sean McDermott thinks that's a mistake.

“I think Justin Fields is his own player, to be honest with you. And I say that respectfully. He’s off to a great start,” McDermott said as the 11-3 Bills, looking to clinch the AFC East with a win, prepped for kickoff in what should be a weather-impacted game. “He’s a talented football player and tough to defend.”

Nevertheless ... comps are comps. And Bills players, in examining what makes the Bears tick - their 3-11 record be damned - see the parallels between the budding Bears star and the Baltimore MVP Jackson.

“I always say when you play quarterbacks like these like Josh (Allen), Pat (Mahomes), Lamar (Jackson), they’re extremely dangerous,” safety Jordan Poyer said.

"Quarterbacks like these'' in part refers to the dual-threat QB. Fields hasn't fully mastered the aerial part of his job ... maybe in part because the Bears are not loaded with weapons in that department. But with three games to play, he's already a 1,000-yards rusher.

That certainly means special attention will be paid to the 6-3, 230-pound Fields, who was Chicago's first-round pick out of Ohio State in the 2021 NFL Draft.

“For us,'' Poyer said, "it’s going to come down to playing team defense, all 11 guys, hats to the ball.''

There will also be schematics involved, though as far as McDermott is concerned, that may be an overrated factor here.

“Fundamentals win,” McDermott said. “If you don’t execute fundamentals, you don’t win football games.”

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