It is not every NFL game a flag is thrown for an illegal forward handoff. But that was just one of many penalties called on the Chicago Bears in Thursday night's 30-24 win over the New England Patriots.
With the Bears facing second-and-3 from New England's 8-yard line, head coach Ben Johnson dialed up a trick play with a handoff to left guard Joe Thuney, which was called back for an illegal forward handoff. Chicago did not seem to know they would be called for the penalty nor did Thuney, but he had fun on the play.
“Just kind of work on it here and there, kind of as a, ‘who knows’ play and heard it in the huddle, so let’s go," Thuney said "… I guess they said forward handoff or something. So, gotta go look at it. It was fun but illegal, I guess.”
In his 11-year NFL career, Thuney has never run the ball or had a reception. Given Ben Johnson’s propensity for trick plays, it would not be surprising to see the Bears draw up another trick play for Thuney or one of Chicago’s other offensive linemen.
Because of the Thursday night game, the Bears now have a mini-bye before their Week 8 Monday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. After this win, Chicago is now 2-0 in prime-time games this season. They are also 3-0 when scoring at least 30 points, which they have done in every game that starting quarterback Caleb Williams has started and finished.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears LG Joe Thuney reacts to his illegal handoff vs. Patriots