NFL Game Recap - Chicago at Atlanta
Sun Sep 27, 2020 1:00 PM EDT

MIA
31
JAX
13
F
HOU
21
PIT
28
F
CIN
23
PHI
23
F OT
SF
36
NYG
9
F
LV
20
NE
36
F
TEN
31
MIN
30
F
WAS
20
CLE
34
F
LAR
32
BUF
35
F
CHI
30
ATL
26
F
CAR
21
LAC
16
F
NYJ
7
IND
36
F
DAL
31
SEA
38
F
TB
28
DEN
10
F
DET
26
ARI
23
F
GB
37
NO
30
F
KC
34
BAL
20
F
DEN
37
NYJ
28
F

Sep 27, 2020, 1:00 PM EDT

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Chicago (3-0)

3

7

0

20

30

Atlanta (0-3)

6

10

10

0

26

Another Falcons collapse: Foles' 3 TDs lead 30-26 Bears win
Mon Sep 28, 2020 1:33 AM

ATLANTA (AP) No matter how bad things might have seemed a week ago, the Atlanta Falcons somehow managed to make it even worse.

Yep, another epic fourth-quarter collapse.

This one could spell the end for embattled coach Dan Quinn, who already carried the burden of the biggest squandered lead in Super Bowl history.

The Falcons surrendered a 16-point advantage in the final 6 1/2 minutes to the Chicago Bears, who got three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Nick Foles and pulled out a 30-26 win on Sunday.

It would have seemed downright improbable - if it hadn't happened for the second week in a row.

Atlanta (0-3) became the first team in NFL history to lose back-to-back games in which it led by 15 or more points in the final period, according to STATS.

"These last two weeks have been nothing short of crushing," said Quinn, the sixth-year coach who desperately needed a strong start to the season after two straight losing campaigns.

A week ago, Atlanta became a national laughingstock after failing to pounce on an onside kick, allowing the Dallas Cowboys to finish off their comeback from a 39-24 deficit to win 40-39 on a field goal as time expired.

"It doesn't get no worse than this," defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. said. "We probably found the two worst ways you can lose a football game."

Under Quinn, the Falcons also wasted a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl after the 2016 season and lost in overtime to the New England Patriots.

Quinn faced questions about his job security after the latest debacle. He insisted that he's only focused on turning things around.

"I need to be the same guy on our best days and on our worst days," Quinn said. "Anything past that does not help the team. All I can focus on is us finishing better. That's where my focus needs to be."

This time, it was Foles who guided the improbable comeback after relieving erratic Mitchell Trubisky in the third quarter, pushing the Bears to 3-0 for the first time since 2013.

The former Super Bowl MVP won it with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Miller with 1:53 remaining.

"Pretty special," said tight end Jimmy Graham, who had a pair of touchdown catches. "He was out there ad-libbing a bit for sure and checking and changing some plays. There's one play he called, I'm like, `We got that?' So it was pretty cool to see and pretty cool to be a part of."

Foles had two apparent touchdown passes overturned by official reviews - and still managed to pull out the victory.

He tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to Graham to make it 26-16 with 6:20 to go. The Falcons still appeared in good shape after the Bears failed on a 2-point attempt.

But Chicago got the ball back and moved quickly down the field. Foles connected with Allen Robinson on a short pass that turned into a 37-yard touchdown when Isaiah Oliver and Blidi Wreh-Wilson both missed tackles, allowing the receiver to scoot down the sideline.

After the Falcons went three-and-out on their third straight possession, Foles heaved one down the middle of the field with a rusher in his face. Miller hauled it in for the winning score.

The Falcons still had a shot, but Matt Ryan's pass was intercepted by Tashaun Gipson to seal it.

Foles finished 16 of 29 for 188 yards. Trubisky, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft, was 13 of 22 for 128 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked twice.

Brian Hill and Todd Gurley each ran for a touchdown and Ryan connected with Hayden Hurst on a short TD pass that helped stake the Falcons to their seemingly comfortable lead.

Of course, no lead is safe for the Falcons.

Especially with Foles recapturing some of the magic he had in guiding the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl title three seasons ago after replacing the injured Carson Wentz.

Foles spent one injury-plagued season in Jacksonville, then was acquired by the Bears to put some heat on the disappointing Trubisky.

Trubisky set up Chicago's first touchdown with the second-longest run of his career, a 45-yarder after the Falcons abandoned the the entire middle of the field. He connected on Graham on a 2-yard scoring pass to pull the Bears within 16-10 at halftime.

But Foles got his chance after Trubisky threw an interception in the third quarter that led to a Falcons field goal, pushing the lead to 26-10.

"It kind of happened out of nowhere," Trubisky said. "I just accepted the news. I had Nick's back like he's had mine. The situation sucked, but it was just the flow of the game and how it happened and coach made the decision that he felt was best for the team."

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Foles pushed the Bears down the field on his first possession, connecting with Robinson on a play that was initially ruled a 21-yard touchdown pass even though Darqueze Dennard came away with the ball. After reviewing the replay, the officials ruled that Robinson never had control and awarded an interception to Dennard.

With just under 11 minutes remaining, Foles delivered another apparent touchdown on fourth down, connecting over the middle to Miller on a 17-yard throw. But a replay showed the receiver trapped the ball against the turf, turning the ball over to the Falcons on downs.

Turns out, Foles was just getting warmed up.

INJURY REPORT

Bears: RB Tarik Cohen left the game in the second half with a knee injury. S Sherrick McManis was knocked out by an ailing hamstring.

Falcons: The Falcons played without six starters, including WR Julio Jones (hamstring). Also missing were LB Foye Oluokun (hamstring), OT Kaleb McGary (knee), DE Takk McKinley (groin), S Ricardo Allen (elbow) and CB A.J. Terrell (COVID-19 reserve list). The Falcons then lost WR Russell Gage (concussion) in the first half, and DT Grady Jarrett (hip) hobbled off in the second half.

UP NEXT

Bears: Return home to face the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.

Falcons: Head to Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers in a Monday night game to finish off Week 4.

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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and find his work at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry

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Passing

CHI Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
N. Foles 29 16 55.2 3 188 37 1 95.2 0
M. Trubisky 22 13 59.1 1 128 19 1 71.8 2
ATL Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat Sk
M. Ryan 38 19 50.0 1 238 63 1 67.7 2

Rushing

CHI Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
D. Montgomery 14 45 3.2 11 0
M. Trubisky 1 45 45.0 45 0
ATL Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
T. Gurley 14 80 5.7 16 1
B. Hill 9 58 6.4 35 1

Receiving

CHI Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
A. Robinson 10 123 12.3 37 1
J. Graham 6 60 10.0 29 2
ATL Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
C. Ridley 5 110 22.0 63 0
O. Zaccheaus 4 41 10.3 13 0

Team Stats Comparison

CHI ATL
Points For 30 26
Total Yards 437 371
Rushing Yards 130 144
Passing Yards 307 227
Passing Completions / Attempts 29/51 19/38
Turnovers 2 1
Interceptions Thrown 2 1
Fumbles - Lost 2/0 1/0
First Downs 24 22
Rushing Touchdowns 0 2
Passing Touchdowns 4 1
Penalties - Yards 10/80 7/75
Time Of Possession 34:50 25:10
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 4/15 4/13
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/2 0/0
Red Zone Conversions/Attempts 2/4 2/4
Sacks Against 2 2
Punts - Average Yards 4/54 6/39
Punt Returns - Average Yards/Punt Return 1/6 3/11
Kickoff Returns - Average Yards/Kickoff Return 3/30 2/13

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter CHI ATL
ATL 05:17 TD Hayden Hurst 1 yd pass from Matt Ryan (missed kick) 0 6
CHI 12:17 FG Cairo Santos 35 yd FG 3 6
2nd Quarter CHI ATL
ATL 06:29 FG Younghoe Koo 29 yd FG 3 9
ATL 10:23 TD Brian Hill 35 yd run (Younghoe Koo kick) 3 16
CHI 13:10 TD Jimmy Graham 2 yd pass from Mitchell Trubisky (Cairo Santos kick) 10 16
3rd Quarter CHI ATL
ATL 02:26 TD Todd Gurley II 10 yd run (Younghoe Koo kick) 10 23
ATL 05:02 FG Younghoe Koo 36 yd FG 10 26
4th Quarter CHI ATL
CHI 08:40 TD Jimmy Graham 3 yd pass from Nick Foles (failed 2pt Pass from Nick Foles) 16 26
CHI 10:39 TD Allen Robinson II 37 yd pass from Nick Foles (Cairo Santos kick) 23 26
CHI 13:07 TD Anthony Miller 28 yd pass from Nick Foles (Cairo Santos kick) 30 26

Game Information

Stadium: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
Attendance: 0
Game Time: 3:25
Weather: