Many figured it was only a matter of time before Mitch Trubisky lost his job as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears to Nick Foles.
But really, did anybody see it happening in a game the Bears won to improve to 3-0?
Coach Matt Nagy pulled the trigger after Trubisky threw a mindless interception on Chicago’s first possession of the second half Sunday afternoon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. At that point, the Bears were trailing the Falcons by 13 points and their No. 1 QB for the last three seasons had completed 13 of 22 passes, including a touchdown, while moving the sticks on just one of eight third-down plays.
Foles, the MVP of Super Bowl LII who was acquired early in the off-season to challenge Trubisky, also threw an interception on his first drive. But it was originally ruled a touchdown before replays showed Falcons corner Darqueze Dennard wrestled the ball from Allen Robinson.
Undaunted, Foles went on to throw three touchdown passes (and another that was overturned by officials) in the fourth quarter while connecting on 16 of 29 for 188 yards in the Bears’ dramatic 30-26 win that represented the second straight second-half meltdown by the 0-3 Falcons.
Robinson was the top target of the Chicago quarterbacks, catching 10 balls for 123 yards and a touchdown. Tight end Jimmy Graham had his best day as a Bear with six grabs for 60 yards and two scores.
After the game, Nagy said he hasn’t decided who would start next week against Indianapolis.
“We just want to enjoy the win tonight,” he told reporters.
Still, it’s unimaginable he’ll go back to Trubisky now.
“There’s something special about this group,” Nagy said of the Bears, who also needed a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Detroit Lions in the season opener, then defeated the New York Giants in Week 2. “I don’t know what it is, but there’s something special about this team. I love it.”
In some bad news for the Bears, it appears running back/return specialist Tarik Cohen suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
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