Justin Fields felt fans 'disrespectful' to Andy Dalton

Chicago Bears fans present at their preseason game on Saturday chanted rookie Justin Fields’ name while Andy Dalton was playing on the field. When speaking with reporters after the game, Fields acknowledged that he could hear the fans chanting. Fields felt it was “disrespectful” to his fellow teammate in the quarterback room.

Fans chant for Justin Fields over Andy Dalton

During a postgame interview, Fields acknowledged the calls from Bears fans and was upset at the reaction to Dalton.

“I noticed it, of course. The fans are awesome, but they also have to realize Andy is a human being, too,” Fields said following the game. “Andy is out there on the field right now, so I really think it’s kind of disrespectful to Andy, them cheering my name like that. They have to trust in coach to make sure he’s making the right decisions and cheer Andy on. That’s not helping Andy play better, them cheering my name. That’s not doing that.

“I would say my advice to them would be just cheer for who’s out there playing on the field.”

With fans eager to see Fields take the field, Dalton received boos from the crowd when he entered the game for the second quarter. On seven drives in the game, the Dalton-led offense earned just four total first downs. Dalton did complete a 73-yard touchdown to wide receiver Rodney Adams before his day was finished.

Dalton commented on the boos following the game, mentioning the negative atmosphere changed after his touchdown pass.

“It’s part of it. They want to see a good product out there,” Dalton said of the fans. “I didn’t hear any boos after the touchdown pass that I threw. Hopefully they’ll be cheering a lot.”

The decision to stick with Dalton through the entire half seemed unusual to fans as the Bears were already resting a large number of starters. The Bears played without running back David Montgomery, wide receiver Allen Robinson or tight end Cole Kmet.

Despite the big play, it was a disappointing performance by the Bears offense on Saturday, and it raised further questions about when it would be time to let Fields take the reins.

Matt Nagy sticking with Dalton

After the game, Chicago coach Matt Nagy stated he is standing by his decision to start Andy Dalton in Week 1 of the NFL season. Critics of his decision have pointed out that preseason is the perfect time to get Fields accustomed to the NFL level and continuing with Dalton only delays the rise of Fields.

As the NFL season draws closer, the opportunities to see Fields in action with the starting lineup are disappearing. Nagy spoke with reporters after the game and suggested that Fields could start to see playing time with the team’s starters.

“With three weeks before the season opener and one preseason game left, the hope is Fields will get reps with the starters before week one,” reported NFL.com’s Kevin Patra. “Nagy suggested after the game that we could see the rookie get reps with the first-teamers next week. That’s when the true evaluation of the first-rounder can begin.”