In a surprising turn of events during the NBC broadcast of Sunday Night Football, the narrative surrounding the Chicago Bears' quarterback situation took an unexpected detour. Instead of focusing on Justin Fields' thumb injury and rookie backup Tyson Bagent's commendable performance in the previous game, the broadcast seemed to embark on a "bus tossing" of Fields, as described by Laurence Holmes of 670 The Score.

Fields, the Bears' starting quarterback, was sidelined due to a thumb injury, leaving Bagent to fill in. However, the 23-year-old struggled during the Bears' 30-13 loss to the Chargers, throwing two interceptions and finishing with a passer rating of 62.0. This marked the second consecutive game that Fields missed after dislocating his right thumb in a previous match against the Vikings.

Criticism of Fields from play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico and color analyst Cris Collinsworth seemed to be fueled by what fellow Score midday host Dan Bernstein referred to as a "back-stabbing whisper campaign" within the Bears' organization.

Bernstein pointed out that the criticism was not unfounded, stating, "The story is this stuff, the whispers, the, 'Hey, it'd be nice if Justin could do that.' They're telling you who they would prefer to coach. They would much rather have somebody (Bagent) who could run their stuff, get the ball out, make their reads rather than have to figure out how to best use the talents of a unicorn (in Fields)."

Bernstein's frustration was evident as he voiced his concerns, adding, "If you don't want to coach Justin Fields, if that's too much for you, if you can't handle him, then you suck as a coach. Bring in some other people to do it. That's your damn problem."

He further addressed the mistreatment of Fields, highlighting an incident earlier in the year when Fields called out the coaches for overloading him with responsibilities, expressing his desire to showcase his full potential on the field. However, Fields was subsequently made to apologize for his comments, drawing attention to the tension between the quarterback and the coaching staff.

Bernstein went on to criticize the Bears for ignoring Fields' injury, only to exploit the opportunity to launch their whispered campaign against him on national television. He expressed empathy for Fields, asserting that the situation was incredibly unfortunate for the young quarterback.

The controversy surrounding the treatment of Justin Fields by the Bears' coaching staff and the subsequent NBC broadcast's framing of the situation has reignited discussions about the dysfunction within the organization. As the Bears move forward, it remains to be seen how they will address these issues and support their talented young quarterback.