It was an imperfect night for Nick Foles, and we’ll be getting into that.
But for the moment, I just wanted to call out a play that highlights where Foles is at his best, and pretty much won the Bears the game last night.
With time winding down in the 4th, the Bears down by two, and a solid 15 yards out of realistic field goal range, Foles identified a blitz on 2nd and 11. He called it out, and adjusted the play in a very specific way to set himself and David Montgomery up for a chance at a chunk play:
Facing a key 2nd & 11, #Bears QB Nick Foles identified man coverage and yelled "Rub! Rub!" to Allen Robinson, scheming David Montgomery wide open against a blitz.
This perfect call (and throw) basically won the Bears the game. HUGE play. pic.twitter.com/PCuZz0K31W
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) October 9, 2020
Perfect, perfect call. Foles knew with a deep safety to that side, he’d have an opportunity to hit Montgomery coming out of the back field if Allen Robinson ate up the short corner and screened the linebacker on Montgomery. Brilliant.
And, in fact, it was actually even more than that Foles was seeing at the line, as helpfully pointed out by former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho:
https://twitter.com/EmmanuelAcho/status/1314571678190497794
The speed with which Foles processed what was happening, rapidly directed traffic, and then completed the play is truly impressive. I’m not saying there aren’t other Bears quarterbacks who could and would do it, but it doesn’t seem like the kind of field general stuff we’ve seen the last few years. Maybe that’s just my own bias. Or maybe it’s because Foles is an extremely experienced quarterback, who has seen a whole lot in his day, and knows this system well enough to adjust on the fly.
Also? Helluva pass, too, floating it in there perfectly. It looks easier than it is to lob one like that.