CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) — Tom Brady held up four fingers as if he had one more play remaining, one more opportunity to pull out the win. If that’s what he was thinking, the three-time MVP would not say.
Brady fell to Nick Foles again, appeared to lose count of downs on his final play with seconds remaining, and the Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-19 on Thursday night after Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:17 remaining.
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DeAndre Houston-Carson broke up Brady’s fourth-down pass with 33 seconds left after Santos kicked the go-ahead field goal. Brady put up four fingers, as if he had one more down. Instead, Chicago took possession and came away with a narrow victory.
“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.”
Brady never lost to Chicago in five meetings as a member of the Patriots. But facing Foles for the first time since New England lost to Philadelphia in Super Bowl 52, the six-time champion once again came up short.
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Brady threw for 253 yards and one touchdown. But the Buccaneers (3-2) had their three-game win streak snapped.
“It was a fistfight,” said Foles, acquired from Jacksonville in an offseason trade. “It reminded me of like, a good old fistfight from Philly. Now, I get to do it in Chicago. 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 of everything, but I’ll sleep well tonight. I think everyone is really excited about the victory.”
Khalil Mack had two sacks, and the Bears (4-1) bounced back from a lackluster loss to Indianapolis.
Foles, the Super Bowl 52 MVP, completed 30 of 42 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown in his second start after replacing Mitchell Trubisky.
“All in all, the offense made plays when they had to and I think that’s one of the special traits that I think Nick has,” coach Matt Nagy said.
Allen Robinson had 90 yards receiving. Jimmy Graham caught a touchdown pass and David Montgomery ran for a score.
WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss spoke to Bears coach Matt Nagy on Monday following their win Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Liss: You have had a few extra days to savor the win over Tampa. A few things still stand out, of course, that Kyle Fuller hit for starters - wow, what more can you say maybe about that play and its impact on the broader game. I know you have been speaking about these home games without a crowd, you need to create your own energy.
"Yeah, you know what Josh, that was a huge hit. That really turned the game right there, by Kyle. It was completely legal and got that ball out and then those guys to get it; I think that was a big time turning point in that game. I just like the way the physicality of our defense, they way they are playing. They are in a good place right now," Nagy said.
Liss: Physicality - you saw Khalil Mack flip the 340-pound lineman over his hip. Wow.
"Yeah," Nagy laughed. "That is stuff we have been seeing now for a few years. He's got some pretty good strength, and I think it was a wake up call to a lot of those guys that not only does he play hard to the start of the play, but to the end of the play, as well."
Liss: That's fun stuff. The serious business is Nick Foles sort of working out the kinks a bit at his second start as quarterback. What may be an example of something that was maybe out of sync a bit in the game against Indianapolis and that loss that you were able to work through during the short week and have it pay off against Tampa Bay?
"The thing with Nick is, he never really gets rattled at all, so we just faced two pretty good defenses back to back that give challenges with their defensive linebackers, and I thought was a good about this game against Tampa Bay for Nick and for our offense was at the right time we got protection and Nick made some special throws and guys made some big time catches at the right time," Nagy said. "So just being able to navigate through some of the adversity we faced throughout the course of the game and not get into panic mode or get too concerned about it. It helps you win in the end."
Liss: I know James Daniels went down with an injury. How do you start filling that spot on the offensive line with a difficult, at least looking on paper, Carolina team hosting you on Sunday?
"Yeah, that is a big loss for us. James has been having a really good year and it is tough having that happen, but it is a part of football, and so we will rally and get the next guy up ready to rock and roll. Coach Juan Castillo will make sure that that guy is ready to go, so that's what we got to do," Nagy said. "This Carolina team that we are about to face is on a three game win streak. They are a tough football team, and so we have got to make sure we have a good week of practice here going into this week and really focus in and get locked in, trying to do everything we can to be 5-1."
You can hear more from Matt Nagy on the Bears Coaches Show on Mondays at 7 p.m.
The Chicago Bears travels Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at noon for Game 6.