Inside a downcast home locker room at Soldier Field, Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields lay down inside his stall, full uniform still on and the wheels in his brain spinning in all directions. Fields couldn’t really comprehend how such a fun and positive afternoon had turned so dreadful, how his most productive outing as an NFL quarterback had been punctuated by two late turnovers, how a 21-point Bears lead had unraveled and somehow become a gutting three-point home loss.

How on earth did Sunday’s game go into the books as a 31-28 Denver Broncos victory?

“Yeah,” Fields said. “It hurt. Just the lead that we had. And we weren’t able to finish it off. I wasn’t able to finish it off.

“Of course, it hurt. It’s almost like … Ah. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s just … Yeah. The emotions are going everywhere.”

Somehow it made all the sense in the world.

It’s almost like … Ah. I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s just … Yeah.

When will all this confusion and hurt go away?

On a picturesque October afternoon by Lake Michigan, Fields and the Bears provided much-needed feel-good for the better part of three quarters. It felt like a significant moment, a seized opportunity against a floundering opponent, the long-awaited breakthrough to snap a 13-game losing skid.

When Fields threw his fourth touchdown pass — a nifty ad-libbed 2-yard bullet to running back Khalil Herbert — the Bears had a 28-7 lead with 4:11 remaining in the third quarter and their quarterback had only one incompletion on his first 24 attempts.

It was surgical.

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