Will Matt Nagy really stick to ‘the plan’ rather than give Justin Fields another start? The Chicago Bears coach says the decision relies on Andy Dalton’s health the next 2 days.

With assists from his coaches’ game plan and improved offensive line play, Justin Fields showed clear improvement in his second start with the Chicago Bears.

Sure, he did it in a 24-14 victory over the Detroit Lions, an 0-4 team with a defense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL in multiple categories.

But coach Matt Nagy saw growth beyond just the stats Sunday — 11 of 17 passes completed for 209 yards, including passes of 64 and 32 yards to Darnell Mooney and 28 and 27 yards to Allen Robinson. After watching the film Monday, Nagy saw better decision making and improved recognition of coverages.

Yet Nagy wasn’t ready to say if Fields will get another opportunity to continue that growth when the Bears visit the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

When asked how he will decide who will start at quarterback in Week 5, Nagy returned to his refrain that Andy Dalton is the Bears starter when healthy. Dalton was inactive against the Lions as he recovers from a bone bruise in his left knee suffered in Week 2.

The Bears waited until Saturday night to announce Fields would start against the Lions, even though Dalton was limited in practice all week. Nagy indicated the Bears will examine the issue before their first practice of the week Wednesday.

“We’ve got to see where Andy’s at healthwise these next two days. That’s important,” Nagy said. “Like we said this whole time, when Andy’s healthy, he’s our starter. He’s the 1. Justin’s the 2. Nick’s the 3.

“What’s been great about these last couple weeks is Justin’s had the opportunity to play and get significant snaps, and he’s grown from it. Now we’ve just got to see, where’s Andy’s health at? Once that happens and we get a feel for where he is, then we as coaches decide, OK, where are we at right now? How do we feel he is percentagewise to be able to go into that game as the starter?”

The decision was one of a few issues Nagy was vague about Monday. He said he didn’t have more information on running back David Montgomery’s left knee injury or running back Damien Williams’ quadriceps injury. Montgomery was to undergo an MRI on Monday, and NFL Network reported early indications were he didn’t suffer major damage.

The Bears are bracing for Montgomery to be out multiple weeks, a source told the Tribune, but the initial belief is the injury is not season-ending.

As for Fields, Nagy’s determination to stick to the summer plan that Dalton would start while Fields learned behind him remains a mystery.

Does Nagy still believe the Bears have the best chance to win with Dalton, an 11th-year veteran, over the rookie? He noted in one of his answers that Dalton was moving the ball well before he was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals. Does Nagy possibly think Fields has more to gain by going back to the sideline? Or is he using the evaluation of Dalton’s injury as a polite cover for giving Fields another start?

After Fields was sacked nine times and had 1 net passing yard against the Cleveland Browns in his first start, Nagy was asked if turning back to Dalton after such an ugly outing by the team would harm Fields’ growth.

After Fields bounced back against the Lions, the question now becomes whether Fields would benefit from building momentum with another start. Nagy didn’t directly answer if he’s intrigued about what Fields might do with his next opportunity after the rookie showed off some beautiful deep balls against the Lions.

“What we’re focused on is just how he’s played these last two games, and he grew from the first game to the second game,” Nagy said. “Really this plan that we’ve talked about this whole time is what we’ve discussed with everybody. We’ve discussed it with the quarterbacks. They both know, including Nick, that they all need to be great in practice and when they get their opportunities in a game. That’s all they’re doing, Justin’s been phenomenal with understanding that.

“It’s great that he’s had an opportunity. Unfortunately, with Andy’s health that happened. But right now when you look at where he was with Cleveland two weeks ago and where he just came from this past week, he’s done a really good job. Is there room for improvement? Of course. Absolutely there’s room for improvement. But right now his confidence is a heck of a lot better than it was two weeks ago, and that’s a credit to Justin for handling it the right way.”

Nagy said Fields is one of the better players he has been around in how he handles adversity, noting the way he attacked corrections last Monday after film study and how he applied it Wednesday at practice.

“For 22 years old, to have that is rare,” Nagy said.

There is plenty more to learn from.

Beyond correcting plays against the Lions, such as an interception on a tipped pass and a sack-fumble that Fields recovered, Nagy said there’s also handling day-to-day preparation.

“Justin, too, is just understanding that it’s not just showing up on Sunday and playing the game,” Nagy said. “There’s a whole process to that Monday through Saturday, man. Everything is to the hour in what you’re doing. From the time you wake up, what you do, to the time you go to bed and how important sleep is, distractions outside of the building — everything else that’s going on.

“There’s a lot to being a successful NFL quarterback. He’s learned a lot in two weeks. We feel really good with where we’re at with this quarterback position and that’s important right now, and Justin needs to be given a lot of credit for the way he handled yesterday.”

But will Nagy let Fields continue to learn as the starter?

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