Just as an experiment, let's travel back to November, 2022. Justin Fields finished his rookie campaign 2-8, and after a lackluster start to the 2022 campaign, was 5-13 through his first 18 games as a professional.
Coming to town were the Miami Dolphins, a 5-3 team at the time who would finish just above .500 and squeak their way into the playoffs.
Justin, now in his 19th start as a professional, had a very decent game, combining for a touch over 300 yards from scrimmage and 4 total TDs against a defense that would finish the season 6th-worst in the NFL against the pass.
An anonymous poster had this to say during the game, an ultimately losing effort that put Justin's career record as a starter in the NFL to 5-14:
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Justin Fields is growing up right before our eyes. I was excited about the Bears when they traded for Cutler (didn't work out as planned, and wanted to be about (Pro Bowl QB) (Pro Bowl QB) (Pro Bowl QB) Trubisky but this kid looks like he will be good-great once they get a few weapons around him.
Flash forward a week, when the Bears lose to the 2-6 Lions, a game that saw Fields again accrue roughly 300 yards from scrimmage against a bad team but failed to crack the 100 Rating mark, and was finished by a 4th quarter drive that saw the Bears QB, more than a full season's worth of starts into his career, go 1/3 for 7 yards with 2 sacks. That same anonymous poster, who is literally anyone's guess at this point, had this to say:
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It looks as if the Bears now have a QB that they can build around. This season is all about his development. Rack up a ton of "moral victories" til the end of season and lock up a high draft pick.
Another week goes by, and on this particular Sunday in November '22, the Bears lose to the Falcons in Atlanta, a game where Fields has a paltry 153-yard 1 TD 1 INT game against a 4-6 team which sacked him 4 times on the day:
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The Bears Pocket collapses far too often for anyone to be an effective pocket passer. Fields may not be good at it but it would be hell even if were good at it.
This anonymous poster even responded to someone else about the particularities of Justin's performance that day:
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Fields had about 10+ seconds to throw the ball twice. Guys were open. He's afraid to let the ball go.
And seemingly 8 or 9 seconds of those 10 seconds he is running for dear life.
One more week into the future, and Fields loses his 5th straight start to the Packers, throwing for 254 with no passing TDs and 2 INTs, his record as a starting QB in the NFL now down to 5-17:
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But this really isn't your argument is it? Just Asking A Question. Or mine for that matter. I'm not saying that you can get his Hall of Fame bust ready right now or that he is a Pro Bowler (moment of silence for that game I believe) but what I am saying is that the kid isn't a bust either. Which is what MANY, including you seemingly were arguing in the beginning of the season. He is obviously a keeper at this point contrary to what I read on here week after week.
So what fuels them, because it certainly isn't logical consistency and an understanding of football.
The ups and downs of his development must have been tough to watch, especially with a team that wasn’t consistently supporting him on the field. It's fair to say there was a lot of passion and frustration, but it’s also clear that many saw his potential and were willing to stick by him.