(Too) Bold Predictions: Brady back at Soldier Field this winter?!
Why Thursday night's game won't be Tom Brady's last at Soldier Field.
It's been nearly two years since the Bears last scored a touchdown from inside their own territory. That's crazy! Since the start of the 2019 season, only the Bears and Dolphins haven't scored a touchdown from inside their own territory.
The last guy to do it for the Bears was Tarik Cohen, who on Oct. 28, 2018 took a screen pass 70 yards for a touchdown against the New York Jets...coached by now-Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Symmetry! Since Cohen is out, I'll say the speedy Patterson finally breaks this ignominious streak on a screen pass from Foles Thursday night.
The Bears' crossover games against the NFC South in 2021 and 2022 are on the road, so this can only mean one thing: Playoffs, baby! Maybe not this year, since the Green Bay Packers are currently the heavy favorite to win the division and host a home playoff game.
But sometime before Brady retires -- if that even is after the 2021 season -- he'll come back to Chicago. Maybe in January. Or maybe he'll sign with, like, the Miami Dolphins and play at Soldier Field again in 2022, looking even weirder than he'll look in a Bucs uniform on Thursday.
Johnson's looked great so far, but Matt Stafford, Daniel Jones, and Philip Rivers are, notably, NOT Tom Brady. Bruce Arians and the Bucs are going to chuck it around the field a bit, and they're probably going to chuck it right at Jaylon Johnson, like everyone else has so far.
Also, late-career Brady has formed a habit for throwing pick-sixes; he has 4 in his last 6 games. Make it 5 in 7, as Johnson finally comes down with one and takes it to the house.
Gasp!!! But they just made the switch!!
The Bucs are better than the Bears, and the more you look at the numbers the more you realize it's not particularly close. BUT. When the Bears firing on all cylinders (a big when, admittedly), they can be as creative as any team in football. They'll need it Thursday night. Look for Trubisky and Foles, together in the backfield, confusing everyone, on an early red zone possession.
