The Chicago Bears have never beaten Tom Brady. If that weren’t intimidating enough, it’s probably not easy knowing the future Hall of Famer just got done throwing five touchdowns in Los Angeles. He’s looking every bit like the great player he’s been for two decades. Meanwhile, the Bears offense struggles to even reach the opposing red zone with any consistency.

It’s hard for a lot of fans to believe this team has any hope of toppling Brady. Even with the defense still playing well. Is there anything to grasp on to? As it turns out there is. Since 2016, the quarterback is a perfect 4-0 on Thursday Night Football. However, that doesn’t tell the entire story. Brady didn’t exactly have his best outings in those games.

All told, he’s gone 111-for-157 for 1,166 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions across those games. Good for an 89.82 passer rating. For Brady that is as average as it gets. It seems even he can be hampered by the realities of a short turnaround.

What makes it more encouraging is only one of those games was against a top 10 pass defense. Two of them were ranked 25th or worse. So while far from a guarantee, it’s possible the Bears defense can at least hold him in check.

Beating Tom Brady is going to require points

The reality though is this game will rest on the shoulders of Nick Foles. His debut game did little to help the Bears’ struggling offense as they mustered just 11 points. Beating Brady is going to require a lot more than that. Dating back to the start of 2019, Brady has lost just seven times. Of those seven games, he was held under 20 points just twice. Odds are the Bears will need more than that if they want to pull the upset.

One shouldn’t expect the Buccaneers defense to go along with that willingly. They rank 8th in the NFL in points allowed this season. So if the Bears want it, they’ll have to take it by force. With the #2 run defense in the league, that means Foles will have to be the one to get them there. A lot to ask in just his second start in five days.