Mack leads way as Bears pass rush seals win over Bucs
For all the angst over Nick Foles' accuracy, this game was a reminder of the Bears' grand vision for 2020.
The pass rush was supposed to be the strength of this squad, especially after signing free agent Robert Quinn from Dallas during the offseason.
During most of the first half at Soldier Field on Thursday, Tampa Bay's Fab 43-year-old Tom Brady might as well have been playing a 7-on-7 game. He just stood back and picked out open receivers, with no reason to hurry his throws or even move his feet while leading the Bucs to a 13-0 lead.
When the Bears finally put some heat on Brady late in the second quarter, the game turned. They beat the Buccaneers 20-19, thanks to a 38-yard field goal by Cairo Santos with 1:13 left.
Khalil Mack rose to the occasion in prime time, with a pair of sacks and one deflected pass. He would have had a third sack, but was flagged for roughing the passer after flipping Brady to the ground after the whistle had blown.
“That's what we're built to do, man,” Mack said. “These guys, special group, they love that pressure. It clicked tonight like I knew it would. We clicked at the right time. Feels good going up against one of the best ever. We smelled a little blood in the water.”
After the Bears' first touchdown, the pass rush finally showed signs of life when Mack deflected a Brady pass at the line of scrimmage.
Two plays later, the Bears got the big turnover they'd been craving when Kyle Fuller's brutal cross-body block on Tampa running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn caused a fumble that was recovered by Quinn.
Foles followed with a touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham to put the Bears up 14-13 at halftime. Bears coach Matt Nagy called Fuller's forced fumble the biggest play of the game.
“Kyle, man, he finally got a call that went his way,” Mack said. “He plays so hard. He had that same hit probably three weeks ago and it kind of went the other way (a personal foul penalty). Beautiful football.”
A flag flew after Fuller's hit, but referees conferred and waved it off. A video review changed the original call from incomplete pass to fumble.
“I just felt we were able to make plays at the right time tonight, which was great,” Nagy said.
The pressure reached a higher level in the second half. Mack sacked Brady to limit Tampa to a field goal. The Bears had a James Vaughters-Barkevious Mingo combo sack. When the Bucs had a first down at the 16-yard line in the fourth quarter, Mack sacked Brady for a loss of 7, which went a long way toward forcing another field goal.
During one penalty-marred drive in the second half, Brady was seen yelling toward teammates in frustration on the sideline.
“Anytime you can frustrate Tom Brady, it's a great day and our defense did that tonight,” Foles said. “I was really proud of our defense.”
The Bears didn't get much of a rush on Tampa's final drive, but never let Brady cross midfield before forcing a fourth-down incompletion.
“It reminded me of a good fistfight in Philly, but now I get to do it in Chicago,” said Foles, who completed 30-of-42 passes for 243 yards. “I think everyone's excited about the victory.”
One question coming in was how would the Bears get their offense moving after Sunday's dud performance against Indianapolis. The Colts have the league's best defense, but Tampa Bay is pretty good too, ranked No. 2 in rushing defense.
Nagy tried to make it easy on Foles early, but it didn't help. He missed Allen Robinson on an easy third-and-2 on the first drive, had a back shoulder throw bounce out of Robinson grasp for an interception on the second drive, and missed an open Darnell Mooney deep on the third drive.
It was nearly time for coach Matt Nagy to utter the phrase Bears fans never thought they'd hear — “Mitch, get ready.” Foles eventually settled in and there was no need to turn to Trubisky.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls