Watson & Co. Get Credit for a Play That Looks Awfully Familiar and Other Bears Bullets

I had a dream that Chicago was hit by a surprise blizzard overnight, so I bet you can imagine the sense of relief I had when I saw no snow on the ground this morning.

It is far more enjoyable (not to mention far less stressful) to watch a Sunday afternoon slate of NFL games knowing the Bears already won their tilt. Sigh … then Sunday Night Football happened and it had me in my feelings.

To put it in its simplest terms, Deshaun Watson went off against the reigning Super Bowl champs:

.@deshaunwatson delivered in primetime! #HaveADay #NEvsHOU#WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/h63ZK9Zc0h

— NFL (@NFL) December 2, 2019

He also did something that hadn’t been done in an NFL regular-season game sine Jim McMahon (yep, that Jim McMahon) in 1985:

Deshaun Watson is just the third QB ever with three passing TDs and 1 receiving TD in a regular season* game and the first since Jim McMahon in 1985. #NEvsHOU https://t.co/4HyUaXNArl

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 2, 2019

This is what it looked like:

THE TRICKERY!@deshaunwatson | #NEvsHOU pic.twitter.com/POBDFCMZXu

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 2, 2019

And now, in graphic form:

DeAndre Hopkins was traveling 12.07 MPH when he flipped the ball forward to Deshaun Watson for the 6-yard TD reception.

Watson had 4.0 yards of separation to the nearest defender (DL John Simon) when the pass arrived. #NEvsHOU | #WeAreTexans pic.twitter.com/RH4ShLxuNN

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 2, 2019

Of course, nothing beats the original:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1201354965752508418

AHEM! I said nothing beats THE ORIGINAL:

OK. That was cool. pic.twitter.com/oy97Mp6dnD

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 13, 2017

Ah, yes. That’s more like it.

I’m just saying: Put some respect on the names of Mitchell Trubisky and Dowell Loggains.

*thinking man emoji face*

Wow. Bill O'Brien said Watson, Johnson and Hopkins came up with that trick play over the bye week. "They had it on a piece of notebook paper and they handed it to me." #Texans

— Lakisha Jackson Wesseling (@LakishaJackson) December 2, 2019

Another explanation:

Deshaun Watson on the trick play: "I think it was Chicago that did it … me and AJ McCarron were looking at it, watching film one day. And we were like actually we can probably run that … and then Hop saw it and Hop, of course he's like 'let's do it let's do it!'" pic.twitter.com/EgpoR7ykNy

— Rivers McCown (@riversmccown) December 2, 2019

A play drawn up by Bears coaches working with Watson is a cruel twist of the knife if you really sit down and think about the history that never was.

Then again, this isn’t the first time someone has ripped a trick play from the Bears’ playbook to use in a high-leverage moment in a big game:

The Eagles Stole Their Touchdown-Scoring Trick Play from the 2016 Bears https://t.co/EFi2Rw0Z6D pic.twitter.com/bz7uZBSK9I

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) February 5, 2018

Last night, I found myself re-reading this post about how the Bears landed on drafting Mitch Trubisky … instead of Watson or Patrick Mahomes.

This was the tweet that followed:

Collinsworth: When you meet with Deshaun Watson, he’s a stud.

Me: *remembers Ryan Pace didn’t meet with Deshaun Watson* pic.twitter.com/LSEbdeJa5J

— Luis M. Needs A Clever, New Display Name (@lcm1986) December 2, 2019

Yesterday must have been a trick-play Sunday, because the Dolphins went off with this one:

I’ve watched this 100 times already..

Just absolutely BEAUTIFUL.. Potentially the greatest thing I’ve ever seen #ForTheBrand pic.twitter.com/yTTLaUhqsk

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 1, 2019

I can’t front, so I’ll just say that is the greatest trick play I have ever seen. Great design, better execution.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but seeing the Bears’ kicker on the field gives me enough angst. So, by no means, should the Bears try their own version of “Finkle is Einhorn” in the future.

An updated look at the Bears’ Super Bowl odds:

NFL Super Bowl winner updated

Bal 3/1
NE, NO 4/1
KC, SF 8/1
Sea 10/1
Min 14/1
GB 16/1
Hou 20/1
Dal, Buf 40/1
Phi, Ten 80/1
LAR, Pit 100/1
Oak, Ind 200/1
Chi 300/1
Cle 500/1
LAC, Car, TB 5000/1
Jax, Den, Wsh, NYJ 10,000/1

— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) December 2, 2019

And to think, there was a moment on Sunday when the Bears’ playoff odds jumped above 4 percent. Things were looking better than they had been until the Rams put a butt-whoopoin’ on the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon. Not only does Los Angeles have a one-game lead on the Bears in the wild-card chase, it owns the tie-breaker by having beaten Chicago head-to-head. Sigh. This is how things unfold when you don’t handle business elsewhere.

For the record, the Bears are still kicking’ when it comes to chasing a playoff spot:

It is still a long shot, but the #Bears sit just a couple spots out of the playoffs right now. pic.twitter.com/zJQBHZFijl

— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) December 1, 2019

The Bears are undefeated in the uniforms they’ll be wearing on Thursday:

https://twitter.com/GBraggsJr23/status/1201301519334871040

I feel as if this counts as a good time to re-share Jack Silverstein’s piece from Windy City Gridiron about some of the history that is attached to these uniforms.

Yours truly will be looking forward to this:

#Bears at #Packers on Dec. 15 will remain a Noon CT game. It will be the first afternoon game between the two teams at Lambeau Field since 2010.

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) December 2, 2019

Let’s keep an eye on this, too:

Bears-Chiefs in Week 16 is one to watch. Currently the SNF game. League has to decide in a week. Probably stays if Bears beat Dallas; might stay anyway.

Here’s the Sunday schedule that week— pic.twitter.com/3RW2Ns6qg6

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) December 2, 2019

If the Panthers crawl back to Cam Newton this offseason, this graphic is all you need to know as to why:

Here’s fourth-and-the-season for the Panthers. pic.twitter.com/VresISdjTj

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 1, 2019

This is neat:

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1201228798198333440

Wait … is the most entertaining football team in this state is a Division III college football squad?

Man … I’ve really been missing out, not watching like every single North Central (IL) game this year. pic.twitter.com/jVSDNJR49e

— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) December 2, 2019

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