Chicago Bears quarterback Nick Foles wasn’t perfect Thursday night against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He missed an easy third-down throw intended for Allen Robinson in the first quarter and misfired on a deep shot to a wide-open Darnell Mooney later in the game.
Foles finished Week 5 connecting on 30-of-42 passes for 243 yards with one touchdown and an interception. His lone touchdown pass was a 12-yard beauty to tight end Jimmy Graham.
While not great, Foles was good enough to lead the Bears to an upset 20-19 victory, one that again came down to the waning minutes of the game and this time was decided by the right foot of Cairo Santos.
Santos drilled a 38-yard kick with less than two minutes left in the game to put the Bears ahead for good.
Foles was also good enough to earn the Bears’ second-highest grade on offense from Pro Football Focus. His 66.8 trailed only wide receiver Allen Robinson (shocker!), who scored a 69.5.
The Buccaneers defense dominated Chicago for most of the game, and PFF’s grades are proof of what was at times a lopsided mismatch. No player on the Bears’ offense managed to eclipse a 70.0 grade; that’s embarrassing.
But a win is a win, and as long as Foles is clutch when it matters most for the Bears, he’ll remain in his role as the team’s starting quarterback and a player fans can believe in regardless of what the scoreboard says.