Justin Fields Reminds Dan Campbell of Three Top Quarterbacks

Dan Campbell shared how the Lions are planning to limit the effectiveness of Bears quarterback Justin Fields.

The Detroit Lions will be staring down another mobile quarterback in Week 10.

Fresh off a home win over the Green Bay Packers, Dan Campbell’s Lions will travel to Chicago to take on a Bears team that is finding its stride. Though the Bears are coming off a 35-32 loss to the Miami Dolphins, quarterback Justin Fields has given the team plenty of optimism. 

In his second season as a pro, Fields has begun to make an impact on games with his legs. In Week 9 against the Dolphins, the Ohio State product wrote his name into the record books with 178 rushing yards, which is the most ever by an NFL quarterback in a single game.

He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Campbell had high praise for the young quarterback during his Wednesday meeting with reporters.

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“I would say it feels like a hybrid between, I feel like you’re watching a little bit of Deshaun Watson in Houston, you’re watching Lamar Jackson in Baltimore, a little Jalen Hurts, very quarterback driven,” Campbell said. “Quarterback-driven runs, guard-tackle pulls, read the end, hand it off. 

"These backs are running hard, they’re downhill and then there’s enough of the keepers off of it. There’s enough misdirection to the receivers, and then certainly, his ability on third down, that’s where they really got Miami," Campbell continued. "There’s a number of third-and-8, third-and-10, and there’s an opening in there and he takes it and he’s gone. One of them for 60-something yards. That’s where he’s very lethal, but it’s very much built around him.”

The Lions have had trouble against mobile quarterbacks this season. In Week 1, Hurts ran for 90 yards on 17 carries. Aaron Rodgers, who doesn’t have speed as much as savvy, rushed for 40 yards on four scrambles last week in Detroit’s win.

Though Detroit was hesitant to deploy a spy on Hurts in Week 1, Campbell said there may be a time for it against Fields. He outlined how he’s coaching his team in preparation for the running threat that Fields poses.

“I think you’ve got to use a little bit of everything,” Campbell said. “I think there’s a place to spy, I think there’s a place to pressure, I think there’s a place to really play more coverage, keep everything in front of you and then rally to it. I think it’s all encompassing, and a lot of that will have to do with third down. There’s no easy answer to playing this guy, because you see it all over the tape week after week. It’s certainly something we’re preaching, and it’s the cast the net, close the net.

“You talk about, you’ve gotta be as unselfish as you’ve ever been as a rusher against this guy on third down. You give him even a crease, you get pinned in the A gap, he rushes high upfield, your defensive end and the B-gap’s open and now look out. He’s got a lot of grass, and he can run.”

Winning on the road

In his time as Detroit’s head coach, Campbell has yet to lead his team to a win on the road.

The Lions have come close multiple times, including during a Week 3 loss to Minnesota that came down to the game’s final moments. When Campbell and company travel to Chicago, they’ll do so hoping to rid themselves of the stench that has come with losing on the road.

As a former player, he knows what it takes to win on the road. He shared some of what he believes to be key when playing in hostile environments, as he looks to lead his team to a road win.

“I think composure, discipline and composure when you go on the road,” Campbell noted. “You know it’s gonna be loud. There’ll be things that are gonna happen. Momentum will shift, and not to buckle under that pressure is big. And, from a coaching standpoint, we’ve got to keep it. We’ve gotta have enough ammo, but we’ve gotta keep it simple enough, where we don’t put ourselves in a bind. You put in too much stuff, for example, offense, man, it’s good. You’ve got all these things you want to attack, but yet, man, it’s a lot of kills and shifts and motions. To the extent where it takes away from you getting lined up and just doing your job, just playing fast, playing efficient. That’s where you’ve gotta be careful. I think that’s a lot of it, just keeping your composure and when momentum shifts, you’ve gotta get it back in a hurry.”

Notes

1.) Campbell said rookie linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez is day-to-day with an elbow injury.

“We’ll see where he is,” Campbell noted. “He’s a little bit beat up. We may move him around a little bit, but I don’t know much he would do today. And, we’ll just gauge it day-to-day.”