Nick Foles time came a little earlier than expected. Mitch Trubisky seemed like the established starter after winning his first two games. However, an ugly first half followed by a gutwrenching interception early in the 3rd quarter finally proved to be his downfall. Matt Nagy had grown fed up with his inconsistency. The Chicago Bears needed a spark. So the veteran got the call.
It didn’t start well. Foles had some poor decisions and throws that should’ve been interceptions. Still, that didn’t stop him from taking shots, trying to get his team back in the game. Finally, as the 4th quarter began, things started to click. Before anybody realized what was happening, the Bears scored twice to narrow the gap from 26-10 to 26-23.
Another defensive stop gave Chicago the ball back. Facing 3rd and 8 from the 28-yard line, most expected them to settle for a few yards to set up a field goal. Foles had other ideas. In the face of a major Falcons blitz, he lobbed a bomb to Anthony Miller for the go-ahead touchdown. A game-winner as it turned out.
The best part may have been how that play came to be. Foles explained after the game.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“We sort of had two plays on and we didn’t know if they were dummying their look. They sort of got me earlier in the game and swapped back to two high safeties when it looked like they were bringing everyone. So we were able to configure a cool little two-play play and they showed what we call a zero blitz. We were able to check it and get the ball snapped quickly. The line did their job to give him just enough time to throw it and A-Mill was right where he needed to be to catch it.”
Where it gets truly crazy is how it all unfolded in the huddle.
“I didn’t see a whole lot. When we were in the huddle, I explained to Anthony that if I do happen to kill it, I’m going to throw it to the L (in the end zone). So get to the L and it’ll be a pretty stiff ball. So I knew just in case that if I didn’t have time to get it off cleanly that he would be there.”
Nick Foles showed why the Bears wanted him
Sure he has obvious talent but it’s his football mind that Nagy was after. He just sees the game as a professional quarterback should. From knowing the look Atlanta was giving him and being cognizant of the fact they tricked him earlier in the game. He knew they were more likely to bring the blitz and knew exactly how to beat it. All he had to do was make sure Miller understood his route responsibility.
The blitz came and Foles was ready. He hung on until the last possible second and found Miller for the score. It was a brilliant sequence made even greater by how it all came together before the snap.