Chicago Bears Narrowly Defeat Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-19

Nick Foles once again defeated Tom Brady, only this time, the two were playing for different teams. In Week 5 Thursday Night Football, the Chicago Bears edged out Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 20-19.

After a very rough beginning, the Bears managed to come back and to post a narrow win, following a defense-dominated second half.

“It reminded me of a good ole fistfight in Philly. Now I get to do it in Chicago,” said Foles to the reporters.

The Buccaneers were up 13-0 midway through the second period, after one touchdown and two field goals, confidently holding the keys to the win in their hands. However, the Bears made a stunning comeback in a bit more than six minutes, turning the result upside down and getting a one-point lead until the end of the halftime.

David Montgomery rushed for three yards to decrease the lead to 13-7. In the very next attack, Kyle Fuller delivered a hit on Ke’Shawn Vaughn that not only caused a fumble but also, a change of momentum. The football ended in Chicago’s possession, and the Bears had attacks from a solid position.

Foles reached the endzone in under a minute, executing by sending the pass to Jimmy Graham, who posted a TD. Still, all the eyes were pointed towards Fuller, whose hit was a game-changer.

“He finally got a call that went his way. He always plays hard. He had that same hit I feel like four weeks ago. It went the other way. Same play, man,” said Khalil Mack about his teammate’s play.

The second half saw ferocious defenses on both sides, with two field goals from both sides, and it turned out that the difference from the half decided the winner.

Cairo Santos hit a 38-yard FG with 1:13 to go, giving his team a lead, 20-19, and sealing the victory.

The Buccs did have a chance to win this one, but Tom Brady made a rookie mistake. One of the best QBs ever was counting the downs badly, thinking that his fourth snap was, in fact, the third one. That ruined Tampa Bay’s chances for triumphing, and also made Brady a bit funny with his surprised look towards his teammates when realizing that they don’t have any attempts for a comeback.

“I know we needed a chunk, and I was thinking about more yardage, and it was bad execution,” Brady said. “I had a great opportunity there. Just didn’t execute when we needed to.”

He ended the night with 253 yards, 25-for-41, for one TD and one fumble. Brady was also sacked three times tonight, looking very pale at certain moments. The chemistry between him and the Bucs WRs is still not at the expected level. The one guy who didn’t disappoint was the running back Ronald Jones II. He would record 106 yards from 17 snaps, but Tampa didn’t utilize his dominance on the ground in this one.

On the other side, the Bears had 35 rushing yards as a unit. They were focused on throwing the ball, with Nick Foles having 243 yards, 30-for-42 for one TD, interception, and a fumble. Allen Robinson II caught 90 yards in 10 receptions.

Chicago will meet the Carolina Panthers next, and after that, visit Los Angeles and the Rams.

Meanwhile, Tampa hosts the Green Bay Packers, hitting the road following that for the next two games, vs. Raiders and the Giants.