It was a nightmare start for the Chicago Bears. Coming into Atlanta with a 2-0 record and facing a Falcons’ offense that lacked Julio Jones, Matt Nagy and the Bears needed to put the Falcons away. After dominating time of possession in the first quarter, the Bears still trailed 6-3 and their defense looked lackluster in the early moments.
The low point for Chicago was at 10:07 left in the third quarter. A 36-yard field goal gave the Atlanta Falcons a 26-10 lead. Anyone who watched Atlanta blow a 20-point lead in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys knew that the lead was not safe.
Mitchell Trubisky struggled early and often for Chicago. Trubisky missed multiple key deep balls early on and the offense lacked any consistency or the firepower needed to bring down the Falcons. Early in the third quarter, Matt Nagy made the decision to bench Trubisky and bring in a veteran and former Super Bowl MVP, Nick Foles. After a rough first drive, Foles led the Bears to an incredible comeback victory. That made it a second consecutive week the Falcons allowed 20 or more unanswered points in the second half.
During the fourth-quarter comeback, Foles threw three touchdown passes in 4 minute and 27-second span. Foles connected with Jimmy Graham, Allen Robinson, and Anthony Miller during a comeback that left the Atlanta Falcons defeated on their sideline.
Matt Ryan and the Falcons had a chance to win the game with a two-minute drill drive at the end of the game, but an errant pass was intercepted by Eddie Jackson and the Bears walked away victorious and 3-0 to start the 2020 season.
Highlights:
This man @CalvinRidley1 just continues to flat out BALL.
📺: Watch now on FOX pic.twitter.com/wwvkI5LZrJ
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) September 27, 2020
Calvin Ridley started off the game with a bang and burned two Pro Bowl defenders for a 63 yard gain.
Wow. JUST WOW.@NickFoles ➡️ @AnthonyMiller_3 FOR DA LEAD!
📺: FOX#CHIvsATL | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/MNZaRUU6VE— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 27, 2020
The go-ahead and game-winning touchdown to the speedy slot receiver, Miller.
Makin' it happen on BOTH sides of the ball!
📺: FOX#CHIvsATL | #DaBears pic.twitter.com/KjdYm08JOB
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 27, 2020
The game was sealed by this interception from Jackson that sent Atlanta home with another crushing loss.
Trubisky and Foles battled for the starting quarterback role throughout training camp. Statistically, Trubisky did not have his worst game of the season up to the point where he was benched. Head coach Nagy clearly had seen enough and chose to insert Nick Foles for an offensive spark. The biggest question heading into the Bears’ Week 4 matchup against the Colts will now be: Who is the starting quarterback?
The Falcons once again held an overwhelming lead in their hands and let it slip away in embarrassing fashion. Atlanta sits at 0-3 in a division that has future Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Tom Brady. The Falcons have a slim chance to recover their season at this point. They still have games left against the Packers, Chiefs, and two apiece with all of their division rivals. As good as Ryan and Ridley look, the defense needs to hold strong in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons need to score more points in the second half to close out games.
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Main Credit Image: Embed from Getty Images
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