Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week for his performance last Sunday against the Lions.
In a 31-30 loss, the second-year pro rushed for a game-high 147 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, including a scintillating 67-yard TD.
Fans vote for both the FedEx Ground and Air Players of the Week throughout the season. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa won the Air Player of the Week Award for Week 10. As a result, FedEx will work with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to make a $2,000 donation in honor of Fields and Tagovailoa to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Over the course of the entire season, select HBCUs will receive grants totaling more than $100,000 to support needs-based scholarships through the 2023-2024 school year.
The award comes one week after Fields was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week following a record-breaking performance versus the Dolphins. In a 35-32 loss, he set an NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback with 178, including a 61-yard TD.
Over the last two weeks, Fields became the first Bears quarterback to rush for at least 100 yards in back-to-back games and the club's first player to run for at least 147 yards in consecutive contests since Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton compiled 155 yards against the Cowboys and 154 versus the Saints in Weeks 5 and 6 in 1984.
In addition, Fields' 325 yards on the ground are the most by a quarterback in a two-game span in NFL history, topping Lamar Jackson's 268 yards Oct. 13 and 20, 2019.
"I would say it's pretty amazing, the numbers and the ability to run," said coach Matt Eberflus. "And then to see his growth in the passing game, and then really to see all those guys around him starting to gel with [Darnell] Mooney and Cole [Kmet] really starting to gel around him. It helps our running game. It helps the runners; certainly opens up a lot of windows in there in the run game as well. Certainly exciting."
