Foles Beats Brady Again as the Bears Beat the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football
10 October 2020
By: Paulina Vairo
​
Tom Brady and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced Nick Foles and his Chicago Bears on Thursday Night football in a thrilling game at Soldier Field in Chicago. This was Foles’ second game as starting quarterback after the Bears made the decision to bench Mitchell Trubisky during Week 3’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
​
The Bucs got on the board early with a 39-yard field goal from kicker Ryan Succop. They then took a 10-0 lead after wide receiver Mike Evan’s two yard touchdown catch from Brady at the end of the first quarter.
​
The Bears were down 13-0 at the two minute warning until David Montgomery’s three yard run to the end zone to put the Bears on the board 13-7. With a minute and a half left in the second quarter, linebacker Robert Quinn recovered the ball to set up Foles to throw a 12 yard pass to tight end Jimmy Graham to give the Bears the lead 14-13 at the end of the first half.
The rest of the game from here was field goals from both teams. Succop made a 46-yard field goal in the beginning of the third quarter to give the Bucs the lead back 16-14. The Bears’ defense was strong in the fourth quarter, not giving Brady any opportunity for plays. He was also sacked three times by the Bears’ defense.
​
After a successful 38-yard field goal attempted by Bears’ kicker Cairo Santos, the Bears were on top 20-19 with 1:13 left in the fourth. This was more than enough time for Brady to whip up his magic and get a comeback. At fourth & 6 with: 33 seconds left, Brady went for it and failed to get a completion. Brady miscounted the downs that were left and thought it was the third down. This forced the Bucs to
Nick Foles is now 2-0 against Tom Brady after Thursday night’s win (Photo Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
turn the ball over where Foles let the time run. The Bears end up with the 20-19 victory over the Bucs.
​
After the game, Brady spoke to reporters who asked him why he thought it was third down instead of fourth down during the last seconds of the game. “I knew we needed a chuck and I was thinking about more yardage and then, you know, it was just, it was bad execution” said Brady to NBC Sports. “We had a great opportunity there. So just didn’t execute when we needed do. We just… you’re up against the clock and I knew we had to gain a chuck so I should have been thinking more first down instead of chuck on that down.”
​
Brady also received criticism for not shaking Foles’ hand after the game. He also refused to shake Foles’ hand after Super Bowl LII when the Eagles beat the Patriots. He was also criticized for yelling at his teammates and throwing helmets and tablets on the sidelines.
​
Foles was happy with the victory and enjoyed getting the chance to celebrate the win with his teammates after the game. “I really enjoyed getting in the locker room and celebrating with my teammates. I’m probably a little more tired than I thought I’d be just because I think everyone is really excited about the victory” said Foles according to ESPN.
​
Even though the Bears’ defense came in clutch for the victory, head coach Matt Nagy was pleased with the performance by the offense and by the work from Foles. “The offense made plays when it had to, and I think that that’s one of the special traits that Nick had” said Nagy to the Chicago Sun Times.
​
This victory keeps the Bears second in the NFC North, behind the Green Bay Packers. The Bucs still lead the NFC South, as the Saints don’t play until Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Both teams will enjoy a short BYE week as the Bears next opponent will be the struggling Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Carolina on Week 6. As for the Bucs, they will host the undefeated Green Bay Packers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
​
(Article can also be seen on https://thegamehaus.com/nfl/foles-beats-brady-again-as-the-bears-beat-the-buccaneers-on-thursday-night-football/2020/10/10/ )