Matt Nagy reacts to Justin Fields first preseason performance

Chiacago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields gave his head coach Matt Nagy a lot to think about this evening and the coming weeks. Fields dazzled in his NFL debut Saturday night, throwing for 142 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 33 yards and a touchdown as well.

Matt Nagy on Justin Field’s debut

The former Ohio State star made it look effortless and was incredibly poised once he settled down in the second half. Bears head coach Matt Nagy agreed in his post game press conference, “He was extremely calm the whole time.”

It was a sparkling performance, but it wasn’t without its bumps in the road initially. Fields had a couple of passes that were nearly picked off early and he fumbled after trying to spin away from a tackle in the open field.

“He did a great job of bouncing back, which is what he’s always done,” Nagy said.

Nagy continued to field questions about the emerging quarterback controversy in Chicago in his press conference. He’s told each and everyone of his quarterbacks to stay in the present moment and worry about that. The Bears head coach commented that he thought his rookie quarterback did an excellent job of staying in the present.

“I’ve continued to say that all we want to do–we want them to be the best quarterbacks they can be,” Nagy said. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t worry about next week. Don’t worry about the future. Just worry about today. I thought that Justin did a great job of worrying about today and he played smart football. He made plays.”

Matt Nagy wanted to make sure he praised his Justin Field’s performance but also put the performance in context.

“What you just said. It is pre-season. We all understand that there’s variables involved in all that. But at some point in time, if you said, hey you go back and you look. Is he doing what we want him to do? Absolutely.”

Quarterback controversy in Chicago

Nagy will now have a very tough decision on his hands in the next few weeks. If Justin Fields continues to play like he did today, the questions will only keep coming from media and the fans. Bears GM Ryan Pace and the head coach have noted for weeks that Andy Dalton starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears on Week 1. Matt Nagy was asked if there was anything that could change his mind about Andy Dalton being the starter for Week 1. He didn’t say that his mind couldn’t be changed. That’s an important note moving forward.