More Justin Fields runs? Bears coach Matt Eberflus thinks it could be a part of team’s identity

Quarterback runs could become a more consistent part of the Bears’ offense after Justin Fields’ success running the ball against the New England Patriots on Monday night.

Although the Bears change up their game plan each week depending on their opponent, Bears coach Matt Eberflus said on Tuesday at Halas Hall that designed runs could become more a part of the Bears identity moving forward.

“Once you put it on tape, you have to defend it,” Eberflus said. “You want to be creative in the ways that you do things and you want to do it in a safe way because it is your quarterback, you want to make sure you’re doing that in the right way. He just has to know when to do things the right way in terms of when to slide, when to get out of bounds, all of those things.”

Fields rushed for 82 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Fields ran on what appeared to be nine designed run plays.

The Bears quarterback also became just the second player in the last 30 seasons to throw for 100 yards with a touchdown, while also rushing for 70 yards and a touchdown in the first half, according to NFL Research. The only other QB to achieve that was Russell Wilson, who did it twice.

Fields completed 13 of his 21 attempts for 179 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

The Bears offense also took advantage of Fields’ ability to scramble. Fields found Cole Kmet on third down for 26 yards off a scramble and Darnell Mooney a couple times for catches of more than 15 yards on third down.

The Bears were 11-of-18 on third down against the Patriots.

“Just the efficiency,” Ebeflus said of what impressed him about Fields’ third-down conversions. “Of course it matters how you get it done, but it’s getting it done, that’s important. He utilized his legs when he needed to and we thought he executed well on third down and the numbers show that.”

Eberflus has spent a lot of time as a defensive coach trying to find ways to stop quarterbacks on the run. Now he’ll have one as he and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy try to find the balance of when to send Fields on a run.

“I think it’s very hard to defend,” Eberflus said. “I’ve tried to defend those guys over the years and it’s very difficult, so we just have to do it the right way. We have to be creative in how we do it.”

Back to the basics: The Bears spent much of their 10 days between games last week going back to the fundamentals.

Eberflus said there wasn’t a specific reason why he decided to do that heading into Monday’s game. His mentors have always placed an importance on always working on the fundamentals.

“It’s something that we do every week,” Eberflus said. “We really pick out something that we want to make sure the guy gets better at and you focus on that, the guy will be a better product on the football field, a better performer from Week 1 to Week 6, from Week 6 to Week 12.”

Injury update: Eberflus didn’t have an update on offensive lineman Lucas Patrick, who exited Monday’s game with a toe injury.

Eberflus said he’ll be evaluated more by doctors Tuesday.