Chicago Bears: 5 X-factor players for Week 4 vs. Colts

1. Nick Foles needs to show he was the right choice at quarterback

The legend of Foles grew even bigger last week. The quarterback who came off the bench to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl win and won the Super Bowl MVP, and who again came back off the bench to bring excitement to a low-energy Eagles team and lead them into the Divisional Round of the playoffs the next year (beating the Bears in the process), came off the bench again last week and led an improbable Bears comeback.

We’ll see how much magic Foles has to lead this Bears team. If he could lead this team to the playoffs and perhaps win a playoff game, he’ll be an even bigger legend around the league.

Colts head coach Frank Reich knows all about Foles. He was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles when Foles led them to the Super Bowl. Reich knows how difficult it is to prepare for Foles, per NBC Sports:

"Nick is about as unflappable of a person as I’ve ever been around. He’s a very unique player in that regard. Extremely talented. He’s a big-time passer; this guy, he just has this knack for making big plays like few I’ve ever seen, and then he has this knack for coming up big in big moments."

The great thing about Foles is that he doesn’t panic in the pocket and he’ll take what the defense gives him. Just as Reich said, he’s unflappable. He’ll make the throw underneath on curls or slants and have the receivers try to make plays. Once the defense gets tired of getting dinked and dunked and move in a bit, he’ll make the deep throw.

The deep throw accuracy is what really hurt Trubisky. When he missed an open Miller on that third-down play late in the first half, Nagy likely started to think about pulling him. When Trubisky threw the interception, that sealed Nagy’s decision.

So far this season, the longest pass Trubisky threw went for 28 yards. That was over 11 quarters he played. In just the two quarters Foles played, he completed passes of 28, 29, 30, and 37 yards. With Foles, Nagy can really open up the playbook. There may be plenty of plays that haven’t been used because of Trubisky’s deficiencies that are now available with Foles.

The offense had an extra pep in their step when Foles hit the field. With him, they know they all need to be ready to make a catch. Unlike Trubisky, Foles goes through his progressions to find an open receiver. There were too many times when Trubisky locked into his target and would not see open receivers.

Foles understands this system and succeeded in it. Also, he has experience with the coaching staff so they know what he could do and he knows what they expect. He should have a good game and lead the Bears for the rest of the season.