Bears' Byrd, Foles improvise on game-winning play
When the Bears took over possession down by a touchdown with 2:56 remaining Sunday against Seattle, head coach Matt Nagy knew that if his offense scored, his team was going for the two-point conversion - and the win.
They already had a play picked out, too.
In a matter of minutes, tight end Jimmy Graham caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Foles with just over a minute remaining in the game, and Foles connected with receiver Damiere Byrd for the go-ahead two-point conversion to give the Bears a come-from-behind victory over the Seahawks, 25-24.
Playing at a snowy Lumen Field in Seattle, the Bears erased a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit. With the team already eliminated from playoff contention, there was no reason to take this game to overtime. Instead, the Bears ran a simple rub play, with receiver Darnell Mooney and Byrd crossing paths, hoping to mix up their defenders. Mooney was the intended target, but when two defenders followed him, it left Byrd wide open.
"They actually played it perfectly, and the reason it worked is Byrd played backyard football and knew that they covered it well," Foles said. "And if he wouldn't have done his thing and just stopped and came back [to the ball], we don't win this game."
The throw from Foles came a split second after Byrd freed himself up, which gave the Seahawks time to recover.
"We locked eyes and [Foles] ended up throwing it, and I just knew I had to go up and get it," Byrd said.
Multiple Seahawks defenders tried to hold Byrd up and push him out of bounds before his foot hit the ground, but the 28-year-old receiver said that might have actually given him time to set his feet down.
Byrd had just one other catch in the game for 11 receiving yards. He had only 19 catches throughout the season entering play Sunday.
To set the score up, the Bears drove 80 yards in six plays on the game-winning possession. They took over at their own 20-yard line with 2:56 on the clock. Foles found Mooney for a 30-yard gain on the first play, and the refs flagged the Seahawks for a roughing-the-passer penalty, which made it a 45-yard swing.
The Bears drove down to the 11-yard line before a Carlos Dunlap sack sent them backward. One play later, on third-and-14 from the 15-yard line, Foles threw up a jump ball for Graham, who hauled it in against two smaller defensive backs.
It was fitting that Graham, a former Seahawk, made the crucial touchdown catch. Foles and Graham have lockers next to each other in the team locker room. Both veterans have seen their production reduced this season in favor of younger players. It was Graham's second touchdown this season.
"I thought that was really special," Foles said. "And really fitting. He's been a great teammate."
Sunday's win probably does little to save coach Matt Nagy's job, but it certainly gave the team and Bears fans something to celebrate in a season with few feel-good moments.
"It's not easy when you lose," Nagy said. "Trust me, I have been on a lot of football teams in my life and there's not many that I have been on where you have a losing record. So even for me, learning how to be on a team that has a losing record isn't easy, but you've got be able to persevere, you got to fight and you have to be able to give it everything you have."