CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO/AP) — Mitchell Trubisky missed many targets, sailing some passes high and leaving other throws behind teammates, until it mattered most.
Trubisky perfectly lofted a 27-yard go-ahead touchdown pass into the fingertips of Anthony Miller with 1:54 remaining and the Chicago Bears held on to beat the Detroit Lions 27-23 on Sunday.
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“We knew we weren’t out of it when we were down 17," Trubisky said.
Detroit drove to the Chicago 16 with a chance to win on the final possession, and rookie running back D'Andre Swift dropped a pass in the end zone.
“What a break," Bears coach Matt Nagy acknowledged.
On the next snap, Matthew Stafford threw another incomplete pass as time expired to complete the collapse.
Trubisky threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to help Chicago rally from a 23-6 deficit. It looked familiar to Lions fans: Detroit opened last season by blowing an 18-point lead at Arizona and settling for a tie. That began a trend of blown leads and Detroit finished with a 3-12-1 record.
Trubisky, who held off Nick Foles to keep his job, completed 20 of 36 attempts for 242 yards with three touchdowns, including short passes for scores to Jimmy Graham and Javon Wims.
WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss spoke with Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy on Monday following the Bears season-opener win.
Liss: You've captured Game 1 by any means necessary, so how are you feeling about the way you got it done and the part your quarterback played in making it happen?
"Yeah, any time you can win in this league, you know, you always want to cherish it, so that part was awesome," Nagy said. "I think it was really good for our team just to show the togetherness that we had and be able to fight through some of the adversity. We know it wasn't too clean those first three quarters, but I was proud of the coaches and players to pull through that."
Cassidy: Congratulations, sir! A win is a win, right? You said it yourself, you used the word deodorize the first three quarters. It is a win, but what do you think it was, just a rust from the no preseason and the real team is the team we saw in the fourth quarter there?
"Yeah, I hope so," Nagy said. "I think that for us and for every team in the league right now, yesterday was pretty much - there's no preseason games, so it's the first time they are all out there. Not to mention too, it was a unique situation with no people in the stands. It is certainly different, it's unique, it's quiet, so it took a little bit of getting used to for both teams. But I think what is good now, we have some stuff on tape, we can evaluate, see where we are at and try to get a lot better."
Liss: Yeah down 17, they had you down to a 1.7 percent chance of winning the game, and it would have been nice to have the few thousand Bears fans cheering you on in Detroit. That Ford Field being empty - no fans - what was the environment like, even with a little bit of artificial crowd noise?
"Really strange, and again, the artificial crowd noise was for y'all on TV. I mean it was dead quiet in the stadium. You could hear from a pop I was told. It was certainly unique. It took a little bit of getting used to for us, and you have to create your own energy down there on the sideline, but the players did that," Nagy said. "I think in the fourth quarter you could see that, you could feel that coming back our way until the very last play of the game. So it is strange, for sure, but our guys now know what it's like and we just got to be able to adapt to that."
Liss: More on Mitch Trubisky. What sort of clicked in him and how much of a role did the other offensive coaches play behind the scenes helping scheme the comeback?
"I think it was a little bit of both there. You want to get some scheme involved and take advantage of matchups you have, but then also you need to have execution and that is what you saw yesterday with Mitch, and those wide receivers, the offensive line and the tight ends, the running backs - everyone collectively together, and Mitch had to make throws and he did that. And then you saw some big catches there by those wide receivers, and Anthony Miller in particular for the go ahead touch down. I love the communication we had on the sideline in between time-out breaks. We knew where we were going with the football, and we had to make the throw, and that is what they did," Nagy said. "When you have all that come to fruition and happen, it's special and we just have to use this to keep us going each week."
You can hear more from Matt Nagy on the Bears Coaches Show on Mondays at 7 p.m.
The Chicago Bears take on the New York Giants at home on Sunday at noon.