Fields wants fans to sympathize with Dalton: 'Cheer for who is out there'

The Soldier Field crowd continued to rally behind Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields on Saturday - at Andy Dalton's expense.

Bears fans booed Dalton during the first half of Saturday's preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills as the veteran signal-caller struggled to get the offense going. Dalton orchestrated just one scoring drive against the Bills, leading to a 34-6 halftime deficit and chants for Fields.

The rookie quarterback appreciated the support but lobbied for fans to avoid calling for him while Dalton is playing.

"The fans are awesome getting me out there, but you also have to realize that Andy is a human being, too," Fields said, according to The Athletic's Jon Greenberg. "Andy is out on the field right now. So, I think it’s kind of disrespectful to Andy, them cheering my name out like that.

"My advice to them would be: Just cheer for who is out there playing on the field.”

A large portion of the Chicago fanbase has been vocal about their preference to start Fields despite head coach Matt Nagy holding firm on Dalton's status as the starter.

"I think it’s a good situation for us," Nagy said. "... I truly understand the, I don’t know what the word is for people to want to see more of Justin. I get that. But we also understand where we’re at and what the true plan is, and all we can do is ask Andy to keep playing and Justin to keep playing and Nick (Foles) to keep playing."

Fields, who the Bears took 11th overall in this year's draft, has held his own on the field. He went without a touchdown in this outing but passed for 142 yards while also adding two scores in his preseason debut against the Miami Dolphins last week.