'I just did my job.': Foles stayed patient, helped Bears in first start of season
Nick Foles found out Friday that he would be the Bears' starting quarterback Sunday.
It had been more than a year since Foles started a football game. He spent the season buried on the depth chart behind Justin Fields and Andy Dalton.
He had started seven games for the Bears in 2020, supplanting Mitch Trubisky as the starting quarterback for a time, but lost the job after injuring his hip in November 2020. Since then, he has mostly worked behind the scenes.
Until Sunday.
On Sunday in Seattle, he led the Bears to a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. He threw a clutch touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham in the final minutes, and found receiver Damiere Byrd for the game-winning two-point conversion moments later.
"I just did my job," Foles said. "I went in there and I knew my teammates needed me because of the situation. It's been really unique this year in Chicago. There's no vindication."
The Bears let Trubisky walk in free agency. They signed Dalton to a one-year deal in March and anointed him the starting quarterback. Then they drafted Fields with the 11th overall pick, changing the trajectory of the team and the quarterback position.
Through it all, Foles was an afterthought.
The 32-year-old former Super Bowl MVP said Sunday that he never requested a trade. There was some speculation that the Bears might try to unload the veteran, but it seemed they never could find a buyer.
Then during training camp, Foles added fuel to the fire, talking like a man with one foot out the door already.
"[The Bears] were like, if there's a team you want to go to, then we can talk," Foles said after Sunday's game. "And if there's a team you don't want to go to, then we're not going to do it. Teams were wanting to trade, but it's a crazy business and we were banged up."
Dalton's knee injury in September complicated the matter. The Bears needed Foles as the backup. The trade deadline came and went and Foles remained with the Bears. He served as the backup again when Fields injured his ribs.
But not until Sunday did he see any game action in 2021.
Foles isn't going to remain the starter unless Dalton and Fields remain unavailable. Make no mistake, the Bears would much rather have the rookie Fields gain more on-field experience, even if the games don't matter for a 2021 Bears team that is eliminated from playoff contention.
Head coach Matt Nagy said it's too soon to know if Fields will return next week against the New York Giants. Fields injured his ankle last week against Minnesota.
But Foles' clutch fourth-quarter performance gave Bears fans something to cheer about. He threw for 250 yards and a touchdown on 24-for-35 passing with no interceptions.
"It's his DNA of who he is," Nagy said. "You see it in big-time moments, how he acts and how he's been in his career. And then it's his experience, too."