Foles again outlasts Brady as Bears squeeze past Bucs
CHICAGO — 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 Thursday night after Cairo Santos kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:17 remaining.
William & Mary product DeAndre HoustonCarson 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 ran out the clock.
“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. Just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
Bucs coach Bruce Arians insisted Brady did not lose track of downs. “He knew,” Arians said.
Brady never lost to Chi
cago 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 sixtime champion once again came up short.
Brady threw for 253 yards and one touchdown on 25-of-41 accuracy. 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’m probably a little more tired than I thought I’d be.”
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.
“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 TD pass and David Montgomery ran for a score.
Brady, a three-time MVP, screamed on the sideline late in the third quarter after an ugly drive.
“He was just telling the guys we need to wake up,” running back Ronald Jones said. “Again, shooting ourselves in the foot. No way we should’ve lost.”