The average value of an NFL ticket is $151, which means you want a product that appeals to your fan base. Therefore, he can’t blow up the top picks in the draft after failing to pass Array500 in the standings in a season since 2017. This is especially true when the tens of thousands of absences from your home games mean you want a massive giveaway card to excite the masses.
Someone like, oh, let’s say Justin Fields.
Which brings us to the Atlanta Falcons, victims of all of the above due to self-inflicted injuries. Among the first symptoms Sunday afternoon that they had no concept two years ago in the NFL Draft was the sight around their Mercedes-Benz stadium of all the other people in No. 1.
Yes, Falcons starting quarterback Marcus Mariota wears No. 1, but with the Chicago Bears in town, the vast majority of No. 1 jerseys in the stands represented Justin Fields, the Bears’ starting quarterback, the guy who grew up nearby. Kennesaw, Georgia, as a diehard Falcons fan and whose father had Falcons subscriptions.
Not only that, but before Fields switched in 2019 to Ohio, where he led the Buckeyes on a few trips to the College Football Playoff, he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, Atlanta’s amateur team.
ATLANTA, GA – NOV. 20: Atlanta Falcons finish tight Kyle Pitts (8) hardens a Bears defensemanArray. [ ] Sunday afternoon NFL game between the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons on November 20, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
It was the same Justin Fields that the Falcons took with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. Instead, they were left with the tight finish Kyle Pitts, who made the Pro Bowl his rookie year but was disappointing this season and did nothing to cope with the challenge of not appearing at NFL games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the stands are packed and noisy for school games.
By contrast, Fields dominates the airways, newspapers and cyberspace in Chicago, and his fame extends to the rest of the nation. That’s partly because he already has a pair of his shoes in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after setting an NFL record. for quarterbacks earlier this month when he rushed for 178 yards against the Miami Dolphins.
TooArray At least the Falcons 5-6 had the satisfaction of going mediocre after beating Fields and Bears by a 27-24 victory.
It’s just that the same old absences for average Falcons home games have been replaced through a mix of Bears enthusiasts everywhere and many local Justin Fields enthusiasts who would have solved some of the Falcons’ absence challenges if the franchise hadn’t done so. The Falcons hadn’t made one of the worst decisions in NFL draft history.
Even if Pitts regains his Pro Bowl prestige in the short term and keeps it, tight ends don’t win Super Bowls.
Tight wings don’t even get you to the Super Bowl.
Franchise quarterbacks do either, and Fields threatens to jump in that direction when he gets a decent supporting cast. The Bears missed one in any of their seasons on their roster. They are now 3-8, with a leaky offensive line that has opposing defenses. to hit and bruise Fields at will.
This time, despite facing the NFL’s second-worst sack-producing team, Fields fired six shots. His left shoulder was so hurt after the game in the visitors’ locker room at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that he may only use his right hand to remove the jersey he was wearing under his jersey.
“(The shoulder injury) on the first play of the last series. I don’t even know what happened, to be fair to you,” Fields said, addressing the media later as he looked for a position for the nearest hot tub or hospital. bed. ” I just landed on it, I think. I was in pain, but it was the last push of the match. I tried to be there for my teammates.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOV. 20: Atlanta Falcons No. Nine Lorenzo Carter fires No. 1Array by Justin Fields. [ ] Chicago Bears in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on November 20, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Then there were leg disorders in Fields, and he said, “Yeah, I had quite a few cramps throughout the fourth trimester. “
Fields completed a perfectly introduced 16-yard landing pass in the first quarter, and ran 4 yards intact into the end zone by the time of the quarter to give the Bears a 17–7 lead at the time.
The Falcons bounced back with their fierce defense. They also had enough assistance from Mariota in his first season with the Falcons.
Since the Falcons took Pitts over Fields and their search for Deshaun Watson didn’t work out (which you can thank the football gods for that), they had to point to teammate Mariota after trading Matt Ryan after 14 years with the team. Indianapolis Colts for a third-round draft pick.
Mariota or Campos?
Well, even though Fields was hurt almost around his 6-foot-3-inch, 228-pound frame, he had more yards on the floor (85-25) and consistent passing yards (153-131) than Mariota.
And Fields remained the people’s choice.
Look at those T-shirts.