3 things Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Monday after loss to Saints

LAKE FOREST — Bears head coach Matt Eberflus and his team went back to work at Halas Hall on Monday after losing 24-17 against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.The Bears will host the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night and held a walk-through Monday in preparation. They’ll hold another walk-through Tuesday before fully practicing Wednesday. Here are the three biggest take-aways from Eberflus’ media session Monday.On quarterback Justin Fields’ health, return processEberflus said Fields still was limited and is considered day-to-day with a dislocated thumb in his throwing hand. The team will know more about Fields’ status Wednesday, Eberflus said.”If Justin is there and is available and functional, we’ll go with him,” Eberflus said. “We’ll see where it is.”Fields has missed the past 3 games since he dislocated his thumb against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6. He returned to practice for the first time Friday but was limited.Eberflus said the team will look at how Fields felt Monday and his functionality. The coaching staff will use the same barometer it uses for other injured players, including whether Fields is cleared by the training staff and how he feels. They’ll also look at whether Fields can function at a high level and get the job done.Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent has started in those 3 games that Fields missed and had mixed results. He led the Bears to a win over the Las Vegas Raiders in his first career start but lost his next two, including Sunday when he threw 3 interceptions and lost a fumble.Although Eberflus said he’s confident in Bagent, he is looking forward to seeing Fields return as the team draws closer to needing to make a decision if Fields is the quarterback of their future.”When he comes back, we want him to perform at a very high level, as he’s done in a few games leading up to this,” Eberflus said. “That’s what we want to see from him.”On Montez Sweat’s impact, growth of Gervon Dexter, Zacch PickensSweat’s statistics in his Bears debut might not have been eye popping Sunday, but Eberflus thought Sweat quickly made an impact with his new team.”It’s going to be really big for us going forward, and credit to him,” Eberflus said. “Shoot, he was here four days maybe before he got out there on the football field and learned a new language, so to speak, in terms of terms. He really functioned well in that environment and for our football team.”Sweat played in his first game with the Bears since the team traded a 2024 second round pick for him Tuesday and signed him to a 4-year, $98 million extension Saturday. He finished the game with 2 tackles and 1 pass defense pressure.Eberflus said Sweat helped other players perform well. Many of the Saints chipped Sweat as they ran out on their routes, which helped the Bears’ secondary and linebackers. Sweat also did a good job of pressuring New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr, Eberflus said.Sweat also could help open things up for rookie defensive linemen Zacch Pickens and Gervon Dexter. Both rookies have had limited snaps this season, and Eberflus said he wants to get them more involved.”We love those two guys,” Eberflus said. “They’re working their tail off and getting better. We really feel they’re improving.”On playing the PanthersThe Bears and Panthers will play each other for the first time since their blockbuster trade in March.The Bears traded the No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s draft to the Panthers for two draft picks this season, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and wide receiver D.J. Moore. The Panthers drafted quarterback Bryce Young with the pick.