CHICAGO – Tom Brady fell to Nick Foles again and appeared to lose count of downs on his final play, and the Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-19 on Thursday night after Cairo Santos kicked a 38-year field goal with 1:17 remaining.
DeAndre Houston-Carson broke up Brady’s fourth-down pass with 33 seconds left shortly after Santos kicked the go-ahead field goal. Brady put up four fingers, appearing to think he had one more down. Chicago took over, instead.
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But if he was thinking the Buccaneers had one more play, Brady wouldn't say.
“I know we needed a chunk and I was thinking about more yardage and it was bad execution," he said. "I had a great opportunity there. Just didn’t execute when we needed to.”
Brady never lost to Chicago in five meetings as a member of the Patriots. But facing Foles for the first time since New England lost to Philadelphia in Super Bowl 52, the six-time champion once again came up short.
Brady threw for 253 yards and one touchdown. But the Buccaneers (3-2) had their three-game win streak snapped.
Khalil Mack had two sacks, and the Bears (4-1) bounced back from a lackluster loss to Indianapolis.
Foles, the Super Bowl 52 MVP, completed 30 of 42 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, in his second start after replacing Mitchell Trubisky.
“All in all, the offense made plays when they had to and I think that’s one of the special traits that I think Nick has," Bears coach Matt Nagy said.
Allen Robinson had 90 yards receiving. Jimmy Graham caught a touchdown pass and David Montgomery ran for a score.
Brady was 25 of 41. The three-time MVP was seen screaming on the sideline late in the third quarter after an ugly drive for Tampa Bay.
"He was just telling the guys we need to wake up," running back Ronald Jones said. "Again, shooting ourselves in the foot. No way we should’ve lost that game.
Mike Evans had a touchdown reception.
Ryan Succop kicked four field goals, including a 25-yarder to give Tampa Bay a 19-17 lead with 4:49 remaining. But nose tackle Vita Vea was taken from the field on a cart with less than two minutes remaining after a teammate rolled up on his right leg.
The Buccaneers also committed 11 penalties for 109 yards in losing for the first time since the opener at New Orleans.
“I think turnovers, penalties, field position all those lead to points and it comes down to third down, red area, ultimately, you are trying to score more points than the other team and turnovers are a big part of it and penalties are another big part of that because you are not possessing the football if you are third and long yardage," Brady said. "You need to have clean games where you stay ahead on down and distance.”
The Buccaneers looked as if they might blow this one open, jumping out to a 13-0 lead. But the Bears turned it around in a flash, with two touchdowns in the final 1:48 of the half.
Montgomery plowed in from the 3. Kyle Fuller then put a big hit on Ke'Shawn Vaughn as he caught a short pass, and Robert Quinn recovered the fumble, giving the Bears possession on the Tampa Bay 27. A leaping Graham made a one-handed grab in the end zone with Jamel Dean on him to haul in Foles' 12-yard pass.
INJURIES
Buccaneers: Vaughn (chest) was hurt on that big hit by Fuller. ... LB Jack Cichy (hamstring) left the game.
Bears: LG James Daniels (pectoral) was hurt early in the third quarter. ... LB Devante Bond (quad) was hurt on the game's opening kickoff.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host Green Bay on Oct. 18.
Bears: Visit Carolina on Oct. 18.
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