So Long, Justin?

I said last week that the idea that Sunday’s contest against the Green Bay Packers was a final exam of some sort for Justin Fields was silly. No, check that. I said it just flat-out wasn’t true, and I meant it.

However, it should have been a final exam for the coaching staff, one in which they failed miserably, predictably enough.

Justin Fields was playing some of his best football down the stretch, but it wasn’t elite football, and that’s kind of where we’re at with Justin Fields. He’s talented. He may even be a quarterback with the right roster and coaching staff, that you can with with. But despite your love for Fields, he’s not — and probably will never be — a quarterback you win a Super Bowl because of.

He simply doesn’t do enough to hide warts around him, overcome subpar coaching, or make other players better. If the Bears were to hire the right coach and staff, draft Marvin Harrison Jr., and throw money at every other hole, they could win with him, but not because of him.

I’m not advocating they go another route, I’m just telling you what I see from him after watching every snap of his multiple times for three years. That’s it.

Quarterbacks that you win because of don’t need super teams around them at every turn. They mask roster construction flaws. They elevate their teammates. They earn coaches and executives extensions. They just win.