Bears make switch at QB, name Foles starter for Sunday
Nick Foles made a strong case for being the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears after a 30-26 comeback win Sunday over the Atlanta Falcons.
On Monday, coach Matt Nagy confirmed Foles had done enough in a relief effort of Mitchell Trubisky and selected the Super Bowl 52 MVP as the Bears new starting quarterback.
“He’s our starter moving forward,” Nagy said of Foles.
Foles had come on in relief of Trubisky following Blidi Wreh-Wilson’s interception in the third quarter, and led a rally from a 26-10 deficit.
Nagy said frustration over the way the offense was struggling in the first half and the interception led to his decision. But he was also irritated by the way the Bears failed to come up with points on their first drive of the game when Cairo Santos missed a field-goal attempt. The coach had seen this type of situation too often in the past.
“We’re struggling on third down, we have 10 points, and then you get to the third quarter and we’re struggling a little bit and it’s an interception,” Nagy said. “And there’s just, you’re down 16, it ends up being a gut feel, you know what I mean?
“It’s what we felt at that time, what I felt. We went with it.”
In the fourth quarter, Foles threw three touchdown passes including a 28yard TD against the blitz to Anthony Miller for the winning points with just under two minutes remaining. The play was basically adlibbed by Foles with an adjustment made in the huddle to account for a blitz.
“That’s a strength of his that he has,” Nagy said. “He’s seen a lot of different defenses and I think that that will be something when it’s done the right way can be very effective.”
Foles was the Super Bowl 52 MVP in a Philadelphia Eagles victory over the New England Patriots. He went to Jacksonville as a free agent last year, struggled after a broken collarbone and the Bears traded a fourth-round pick to get him largely because of his experience with their style of offense.
PACKERS TOP SAINTS >> Aaron Rodgers passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns, and Green Bay remained unbeaten with a 3730 win over New Orleans late Sunday.
Allen Lazard caught six passes for 146 yards for Green Bay (3- 0), including gains of 48 and 72 yards on throws deep downfield that each set up touchdowns.
Rodgers’ scoring passes went for 5 yards to Lazard, 18 yards to tight end Marcedes Lewis and 1 yard to tight end Robert Tonyan. Lazard’s longest catch set up Aaron Jones’ 1-yard TD run.
BRONCOS’ CASEY (BICEPS) OUT FOR SEASON >> Denver Broncos defensive tackle Jurrell Casey will miss the rest of the season with a torn biceps, multiple outlets reported. The five-time Pro Bowl selection sustained the injury during the first series of Sunday’s 28-10 loss to Tampa Bay. He returned to the game and played 48 snaps on defense and five on special teams.
The Denver Post and NFL Network both said the 30-year- old Casey is done for 2020. The Broncos acquired Casey from the Titans in March for a 2020 seventh-round draft pick.
BROWNS LOSE RETURNER NATSON FOR SEASON >> Cleveland Browns return specialist and wide receiver Jojo Natson is done for the season after he suffered a torn knee ligament in Sunday’s win over the Washington Football Team.
Natson signed with Cleveland as a free agent in March following two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. He had been handling punt and kickoff return duties and he had one carry on a sweep against Washington before getting hurt.
He returned a kickoff for 31 yards and a punt for 11 in the 34-20 win, which moved the Browns (2-1) over .500 for the first time since 2014.
Natson’s loss could give playing time to rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones, a sixthround pick from Michigan, who was inactive Sunday. Peoples- Jones returned punts for the Wolverines and the Browns took a look at him during training camp.
THOMAS LIKELY TO SIGN WITH TEXANS >> A ll- Pro safety Earl Thomas worked out with the Houston Texans and his “signing this week is more likely than not,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported. Thomas must first pass COVID-19 testing before any signing can become official.
T he Ravens released Thomas five weeks ago after he was involved in an on-field altercation with safety Chuck Clark.