4 things to watch in Bears-Jets game

The second-year pro ranks fifth in the NFL in rushing with 834 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries and has thrown for 1,642 yards with 13 TDs, eight interceptions and an 86.2 passer rating. In the last five games, Fields has accounted for 15 touchdowns, rushing for 552 yards and six TDs on 68 carries and throwing for 773 yards with nine TDs, three interceptions and a 92.0 passer rating.

If Fields is unable to play, backup quarterback Trevor Siemian would make his first start of the season. The seven-year NFL veteran has appeared in just one game this year, completing his only pass for five yards late in a blowout loss to the Cowboys. Last season with the Saints, Siemian played in six games with four starts, passing for 1,154 yards with 11 TDs, three interceptions and an 88.4 passer rating.

“This is a guy that played a lot of ball last year,” said offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, “had a lot of success throwing the ball around the yard a little bit. That game experience, you can’t replace. That’s a good crutch we get to lean on.”

(2) How will the Bears defense fare against quarterback Mike White and a struggling Jets offense?

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, was benched this week in favor of White, a fourth-year pro who has yet to throw a pass this season but excelled at times last year. Last Sunday Wilson completed just 9 of 22 passes for 77 yards and a 50.4 passer rating in a 10-3 loss to the Patriots.

White was selected by the Cowboys in the fifth round of the 2018 draft out of Western Kentucky. He joined the Jets in 2019 but did not appear in a regular season game until last year when he played in four contests with three starts in place of the injured Wilson and completed 88 of 132 passes for 953 yards with five touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 75.1 passer rating.

In his first career start last Oct. 31, White connected on 37 of 45 passes for 405 yards with three TDs, two interceptions and a 107.9 passer rating in a 34-31 win over the Bengals, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. On Sunday, White will try to jump-start a Jets offense that has not scored more than 20 points in any of its last four games, averaging 14.0 points per contest. Last week against New England the unit mustered only 103 total yards and six first downs.