Almost nobody was giving the Chicago Bears a chance on Thursday Night Football. Why would they? They’d just gotten hammered four days prior by the Indianapolis Colts. They then had to play host to the surging Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming off three-straight wins. All of it orchestrated by Tom Brady. Who, oh by the way, was a perfect 5-0 against the Bears in his career.
Things started out pretty much as expected. The Bears came out flat and uncoordinated on offense. The defense was forced into protection mode and Tampa quickly built a 13-0 lead. Then things seemed to shift. A big Cordarrelle Patterson return helped Nick Foles and the offense find some rhythm, which they turned into a touchdown by David Montgomery..
Moments later, a huge hit by Kyle Fuller forced a fumble that set the Bears up deep in Buccaneers territory. Foles quickly found Jimmy Graham for another score on a beautiful one-handed grab.
The Chicago Bears insanity only continued from there
Tampa Bay reasserted control in the 3rd quarter, stuffing the Bears offense and regaining the lead 16-14. Chicago didn’t flinch though. The two teams went back and forth trading the lead until the Bucs held a 19-17 advantage in the 4th quarter. This despite their offensive line getting absolutely railroaded by Khalil Mack for long stretches of the game.
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With just over two minutes left, Foles had one more chance. Despite iffy protection, he managed a couple of huge conversions. By far the biggest being a 17-yard floater to David Montgomery with pressure in his face.
The final sequence wasn’t ideal with some questionable play calls but the Bears still managed to convert a 38-yard field goal to regain the lead. That left 1:13 left in the game. Enough time for Brady to work his magic. Could the defense get one more stop? The answer was yes. On a 4th and 5 play, DeAndre Houston-Carson forced an incompletion for a turnover on downs. What makes it even crazier is Brady, of all people, forgot it was 4th down.
Tom Brady seemed to think that 4th down play was 3rd down. pic.twitter.com/SHVbMrG3Ma
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 9, 2020
An insane ending to a wild, competitive, sloppy, and thrilling football game. The Bears are 4-1 for the first time in eight years and they took down the G.O.A.T himself to get there.