WESTFIELD – As Anthony Richardson was rolling out and lobbing passes on one field, Justin Fields dropped back and tried much of the same against the Colts’ starting defense.
The difference was, the Colts secondary brought some playmaking of their own.
Nick Cross and Rodney Thomas II both turned in interceptions on Chicago’s dual-threat quarterback. Cross’ came on a deflection off the hands of Bears tight end Cole Kmet, but he had to dive to make the play.
Thomas’ came when Fields tried to make an explosive play happen. He rolled out to the right after not finding a receiver open and then uncorked a deep post throw, but by then, Thomas had his eyes locked on Fields and made a dead sprint to steal the ball out of the air in front of the receiver.
Those plays in coverage, as well as a consistent pass rush from Kwity Paye and Samson Ebukam, helped win the day for the Colts defense on the whole.
But it had some leaks along the way. The Bears were able to rip off a pair of explosive runs, including one for more than 40 yards by D’Onta Foreman. Fields was also able to uncork some deep passes, including two long fades to Velus Jones, beating Dallis Flowers and Darius Rush.
“He’s an explosive player,” Steichen said of Fields, whom he faced last year as an offensive coordinator with the Eagles. “I know he has a bright future in this league.”
Overall, this was the Fields experience so far in the NFL. He can make late decisions sometimes, but he can also extend plays even around a solid pass rush and force cornerbacks to hold his receivers far down the field in coverage.
It made for a mixed day for all of the defensive backs and required them to live with a short memory.
Dallis Flowers, Darius Rush make plays
The Colts defensive backs were the one on display in this practice format, both because of Fields’ ability to extend plays and the challenges of the Bears’ receiving corps. From D.J. Moore to Darnell Mooney to Jones, it was a constant challenge to stay in phase for long stretches and not commit penalties.
Flowers and Rush had good moments to offset the long touchdowns they allowed. Flowers broke up a comeback route to Equanimeous St. Brown in which he let St. Brown have zero room to breathe.
Rush scored on a pick-six off P.J. Walker, marking the second time in three days of action that he’s taken one to the house, with the other being Saturday’s preseason opener against the Bills.
After Rush missed much time in the spring and summer with a nagging hamstring injury, the splash plays have delivered a little confidence to the fifth-round rookie out of South Carolina.
“Fifth round, seventh, undrafted — it’s all about what you do when you get to the league,” Rush said. “That’s what I went out there to do, to show that I’m going to come out and make a play.”
Kenny Moore II gets a challenge from D.J. Moore
Not to be lost in the busy day for cornerbacks, Kenny Moore II made his presence known on a couple different plays. He, too, became a target of a Fields deep ball down the sideline but had D.J. Moore covered so tightly that the ball had to sail out of bounds.
He also had a nice breakup in 1-on-1 drills on a back-shoulder throw to D.J. Moore.
D.J. Moore is quite a challenge, of course, with three seasons of at least 1,100 yards in the past four years, all with the Panthers. He and Kenny Moore go back to those days, when they squared off in the slot during joint practices.
“It’s best on best,” Moore said. “We’re just trying to get better. Everything is off the record. We’re competing at the highest level we can, just to be a professional and get the job done.”
Injury report
Fries, wide receiver Ashton Dulin, defensive end Genard Avery and wide receiver Malik Turner appeared to suffer injuries in Wednesday’s practice.
Fries participated in one-on-one drills early in practice, but he was held out of 11-on-11 drills later, and the guard was wearing a wrap on his right lower leg. Dulin got up gingerly after the play, was examined by trainers and taken off the practice field.
Avery was down for several minutes, then taken away from the field on a cart.
Kelly (foot), defensive tackle DeForest Buckner (foot), running back Zack Moss (arm), tight end Mo Alie-Cox (ankle), tight end Jelani Woods (hamstring), tight end Drew Ogletree (shoulder), linebacker Segun Olubi (concussion), wide receiver Breshad Perriman and wide receiver Vyncint Smith.
Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts: Nick Cross, Rodney Thomas II score interceptions off Justin Fields
