The Steelers acquired quarterback Justin Fields in a trade with the Chicago Bears in exchange for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in 2025.
Fields was selected by the Bears in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the 11th overall pick. In three seasons he has played in 40 games, starting 38 of them. He has completed 578 of 958 pass attempts (60.3%) for 6,674 yards, a seven-yard average per pass. Fields has thrown for 40 touchdowns in three seasons. Fields has also rushed for 2,220 yards on 356 carries and 14 touchdowns, including a career-long 67-yard touchdown run in 2022.
In 2023, Fields started 13 games, missing four due to a thumb injury. He completed 227 of 370 pass attempts for a career-high 2,562 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also rushed for 657 yards on 124 carries and four touchdowns. Fields passed former Bears quarterback Jim Harbaugh (1,609) for second on the Bears all-time quarterback rushing list with 2,220 yards.
In Week 4 against the Denver Broncos, he completed 28 passes for 335 yards and four touchdowns with a 132.7 passer rating, all career highs. He completed 16 of 17 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Per ESPN Stats Info, his 16 for 16 completions to start the game were the most consecutive completions to start a game by any Bears quarterback since 2000. In the same game, he also eclipsed 40 total touchdowns and 30 passing touchdowns for his career. The following week he also threw for three touchdowns in the first half, becoming the first Bears quarterback since at least 1991 to pass for three-plus first half touchdowns in consecutive weeks. He also eclipsed over 1,700 rushing yards and 5,000 passing yards in his career in the first quarter of the game. According to SportsCenter, he is the fourth quarterback since the 1970 merger to have 5,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards within their first 30 quarterback starts.
Fields hit the 2,000-yard rushing mark in Week 14 of the season, becoming the second-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards. He also became the second-fastest quarterback in NFL history to reach 5,000 passing yards and 2,000 rushing yards.
In his second season in 2022, Fields started 15 games and completed 192 passes for 2,242 yards and a career-high 17 touchdowns. He carried the ball 160 times for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns, all career highs. In Week 1 he completed a 51-yard touchdown pass, the fourth-longest touchdown pass in a Bears season-opener since 1920 and the first touchdown of 50 yards or more in Week 1 since 2011 for the Bears. In a Week 7 win over the New England Patriots, he threw and ran for a touchdown, the second time in his career he did so. He also became one of five Bears quarterbacks since the start of the 2000 season to have multiple games with a rushing and passing touchdown in the same game.
Fields had a balanced performance in Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins, completing 17-of-28 passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns and rushing 15 times for 178 yards and a touchdown. His 178 yards rushing broke Michael Vick's previous NFL single-game record of 173 rushing yards. He also became the first player since at least 1950 to record 150 plus rushing yards and three passing touchdowns in a single game per NFL Research. He followed that performance with another strong rushing performance, carrying the ball 13 times for 147 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first quarterback in Bears history to post back-to-back games with 100 plus rushing yards.
Fields had three rushing touchdowns of 60 plus yards, and four of 50 plus yards, on the season. Dating back to the start of the 1925 NFL season, Fields is the first quarterback on record to record three or more rushing touchdowns of 50 plus yards in a single season.
In his rookie season he started 10 of the 12 games he played in, completing 159 passes for 1,870 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed for 420 yards and two touchdowns. Fields rushed for his first NFL touchdown in Week 1 of the 2021 season, becoming the first Bears rookie quarterback to rush for a touchdown in his first career game since Johnny Lujack did so in 1948.
Fields made his first NFL start in Week 3 of his rookie season against the Cleveland Browns and threw his first career touchdown in Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders. In Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers, he threw for 175 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 103 yards and a touchdown, becoming the third rookie quarterback (Robert Griffin III and Marcus Mariota) with 100 plus rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown in one game in NFL history.
SINGLE-GAME HIGHS: QUARTERBACK
Pass Attempts
40 at Cleveland Browns, Dec 17, 2023
39 vs. Minnesota Vikings, Dec 20, 2021
37 at Minnesota Vikings, Nov 27, 2023
1 more at 37.
Pass Completions
28 vs. Denver Broncos, Oct 01, 2023
27 at Minnesota Vikings, Nov 27, 2023
26 vs. Minnesota Vikings, Dec 20, 2021
Yards Passing
335 vs. Denver Broncos, Oct 01, 2023
291 at Pittsburgh Steelers, Nov 08, 2021
285 vs. Minnesota Vikings, Dec 20, 2021
TD Passes
4 at Washington Commanders, Oct 05, 2023
1 more at 4.
Long Passes
64 vs. Detroit Lions, Oct 03, 2021
58 at Washington Commanders, Oct 05, 2023
56t at Washington Commanders, Oct 05, 2023
2 more at 56.
Completion Percentage
80.0 vs. Denver Broncos, Oct 01, 2023
1 more at 80.0.
Passer Rating
132.7 vs. Denver Broncos, Oct 01, 2023
125.3 at Washington Commanders, Oct 05, 2023
120.0 at Dallas Cowboys, Oct 30, 2022
Rush Attempts
18 at Detroit Lions, Nov 19, 2023
1 more at 18.
Rushing Yards
178 vs. Miami Dolphins, Nov 06, 2022
147 vs. Detroit Lions, Nov 13, 2022
132 at Detroit Lions, Jan 01, 2023
Rushing Average
13.2 at Detroit Lions, Jan 01, 2023
11.9 vs. Miami Dolphins, Nov 06, 2022
11.3 vs. Detroit Lions, Nov 13, 2022
Longest Runs
67t vs. Detroit Lions, Nov 13, 2022
61t vs. Miami Dolphins, Nov 06, 2022
60 at Detroit Lions, Jan 01, 2023
Rushing TDs
2 vs. Detroit Lions, Nov 13, 2022
1 vs. Atlanta Falcons, Dec 31, 2023
11 more at 1.
