NOTHING SPECIAL
Bears’ special teams collapse, allowing two TDs in thriller
Tom Brady liked what he saw in Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky, even the 54-yard Hail Mary that was caught one yard short of the goal line as time expired in the Bears’ 38-31 loss Sunday at Soldier Field.
“He made some great plays,” the Patriots quarterback said. “Even that last one — that last throw was an incredible throw. Rolling left, had a guy in his face.”
Brady went 25-for-36 with three touchdowns, one interception and a 108.2 passer rating. He outplayed Trubisky, who is 17 years younger, though the Bears quarterback led all rushers with 81 yards on six carries. It marked the eighth-most rushing yards by a Bears quarterback since 1960.
“He’s obviously got the ability to throw it, and he made some great plays out of the pocket, running,” Brady said. “He played really well.
“I’m glad we just came up defensively with enough stops. We made some great plays on the ball,
too, to get some interceptions.”
Run game down
Bears coach Matt Nagy said Trubisky’s rushing yards didn’t count in the run game’s ledger.
“To me, that’s a scramble, and that’s him making something happen, that’s him growing as a quarterback,” he said. “But our run game has to get better.”
Jordan Howard ran 12 times for 39 yards and a touchdown. Tarik Cohen ran six times for 14 yards, though he added eight catches for 69 yards and a score.
Nagy said it wasn’t solely the fault of the running backs.
“It’s everybody,” he said. “And we just need to figure out how we can do that, what’s best for us identitywise. And it’s not one person.”
This and that
The Bears didn’t change much of their defensive game plan once Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was ruled out Sunday morning, cornerback Prince Amukamara said. Gronkowski, who was limited in practice with an ankle issue all week, suffered a back injury in practice. He didn’t fly with the team to Chicago.
“We had a specific game plan with [Gronkowski] not being there,” Amukamara said. “We still ran, pretty much, our same calls. So I don’t think [defensive coordinator] Vic [Fangio] called the game too much differently.’’
♦Tight end Trey Burton led the Bears with a career-high nine catches and 126 yards. The last Bears tight end to top 100 receiving yards was Zach Miller on Nov. 15, 2015, in a win against the Rams.
♦ Receiver Allen Robinson, who battled an injured groin all week in practice, “didn’t feel great,” Nagy said. He caught only one of five targets, a four-yard completion, for his least productive game with the Bears.
♦ Nagy said he didn’t want Cody Parkey trying a 57-yard field goal into the wind at the end of the first half, so they threw an underneath pass and went to the locker room.