The Chicago Bears' 41-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday was embarrassing on its own. The offense once again looked completely inept. The defense, meanwhile, was paper to the Chiefs' scissors as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce put on a show for the most famous football fan in America.
It's all bad in Chicago right now. The team is 0-3, Matt Eberflus should be out of his job shortly, and there's no real doubt as to who the worst team in football is this season. Even so, the worst takeaway from Chicago's Sunday afternoon loss wasn't the QB play or the defensive miscues. It was the team's inexcusable handling of Justin Fields' head injury in the fourth quarter.
Fields was drilled with an elbow to the helmet early in the fourth quarter while airborn. D.J. Moore immediately signaled to the sideline to get the 24-year-old out of the game after he wobbled on his way to the huddle. The Bears quickly cleared Fields and then put him back in the game.
There have been no further updates from the Chicago medical staff, but this is a hugely concerning sequence of events. Fields should not have gone back in the game period, but to put him on the field in a 38-point blowout — in the wake of head trauma — is completely egregious. It shows a desperate shortsightedness on the Bears' part and a complete disregard for Fields' wellbeing.
Chicago Bears make sketchy decision to play Justin Fields after hit to head
This is reminiscent of last season, when the Miami Dolphins played Tua Tagovailoa through multiple concussions. Brain health has been an emerging topic of conversation in NFL circles as we get a better understanding of CTE and the various ill-effects of head trauma on long-term health. These players have long lives to lead once their football career is over. To jeopardize their health to save face in the fourth-quarter of a blowout is bad practice.
In general, the NFL still has a long way to go when it comes to concussion protocols. We have seen too many cases slip through the cracks. Too often a player comes up woozy and then is back on the field moments later. Even if a player doesn't sustain a concussion, there should be more checkpoints to ensure proper health with absolute certainty before a player is placed back in harm's way.
Every NFL player signs up for the risk. Football is a brutal sport, especially at the professional level. These are the best athletes in the world and half of them are out there for the sole purpose of laying the hardest possible hits on the opponent. Injuries are part of the game, as are concussions. But it's part of the game the league needs to be far more careful with.
Chicago has a lot to worry about in terms of on-field results, but the health of Fields and other players should take precedent. It's a game at the end of the day. The goal is to entertain the masses without sacrificing the livelihood of those involved.
