CHICAGO — The playing surface at Soldier Field was the subject of criticism throughout the Bears' 19-14 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
Filled with noticeable divots and patches of missing grass, the field conditions became so noticeable that JC Tretter, the president of the NFL Players Association, took to Twitter to question why the league allowed Bears and Chiefs players to perform on a surface in such a poor visible state. «The NFL said that this field met minimum testing standards,» Tretter tweeted. «We clearly need to re-evaluate what is an acceptable surface for players to compete on.
We need new testing metrics looking at the performance and safety of every field. The NFL can and should do better.» The Bears hosted their lone game of the preseason eight days after Elton John played a concert at Soldier Field, which left the grass visibly damaged with lines of missing turf spanning the length of the field.
The Chicago Fire, which also plays at Soldier Field, announced before the concert that they were moving their Aug. 21 game to nearby SeatGeek Stadium «due to the expected field condition at Soldier Field from a series of planned events at the venue.» «I'm new here so I don't know the situations, but I know the guys are trying to do their best, and the playing surface was passed by the NFL for us to be on,» Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. «I thought it was firm and it was good, so that's where we'll leave it at.» The Bears held their annual family fest practice at Soldier Field last Tuesday, and while still visibly damaged, some players say the field conditions Saturday were better than earlier in the week. «I mean, it's kind of always been like that,» quarterback Justin Fields said of the