The Chicago Bears have a pretty storied history, with nine NFL championships, to the most enshrinees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Bears also hold the record for most retired jersey numbers as well.
Some of the names associated with the Bears franchise are Dick Butkus, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary, Richard Dent, Brian Urlacher and even former quarterback Jim McMahon, who led them to their only Super Bowl win in 1985.
Despite all the legendary history of the “Monsters of the Midway,” they are the only franchise without a single season 4000-yard passer. That’s kind of hard to believe, especially in an era when throwing for 4000 yards seems almost guaranteed.
In fact, it’s become so ordinary that most liken it to a running back eclipsing the 1000-yard rushing plateau. But for the Bears not one of the signal-callers has ever reached that benchmark. The closest to do so was Erik Kramer with 3,818 passing yards in 1995.
Justin Fields Says He Plans On Changing History
As the 2023 season approaches starting quarterback Justin Fields is out to make history. In order for Fields to do so he’ll need to be a better passer than he’s been his first two seasons in the NFL. In those seasons Field has passed for just over 4,100 yards combined, with a 59 percent completion percentage, 24 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
During a recent appearance on the “All Things Covered” podcast, Fields was pretty confident about his chances to change history.
“I will. I plan on doing it this year, too,” he said. “I plan on doing it this year.”
Fields will need to average more than the paltry 149.5 yards per game he did in 2022 — 33rd in the league — to make good on this proclamation. Fields will need to see an 86-yard per game uptick in his passing to reach 4,000 in a season.
Shouldn’t be hard with the new and improved weaponry around the dynamic former Ohio State star, who rushed for 1,143 yards last seaaon, the most by any QB in 2022, and second-most ever in a season behind Lamar Jackson’s (1,206) rushing yards in 2019.
Bears Add Offensive Reinforcements
With the additions of wide receiver D.J. Moore from the Carolina Panthers, the Bears now have a bona fide No.1 receiver, something every QB needs. Moore has three 1000-yard receiving seasons in his first five in the league.
The Bears also added tight end Robert Tonyan from the archrival Packers, who along with last year’s leading receiving Cole Kmet give them a really nice pass-catching tight end duo.
Those moves alone should help Fields get to the magic number of 4,000 passing yards in a season
