Brady recalls costly down misread in Bears game as Cowboys-Bears matchup looms

Tom Brady, FOX’s lead NFL analyst, recalled a forgetful, critical mental error from a 2020 game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field as he prepared for Sunday’s matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and the Bears. In a segment tied to FOX’s NFL coverage, Brady described a moment when a down was misread and a late drive nearly slipped away, a memory he says still sticks with him.

During a late-season drive in 2020, Tampa Bay trailed by a point in the final minute. Brady’s pass to tight end Cameron Brate fell incomplete, and he remained on the field for one more chance, signaling what he believed to be a fourth opportunity to gain yardage for a potential game-winning field goal. In retrospect, Brady said the sequence was a reminder that a quarterback must know the down, and he acknowledged the moment as a bad mess-up. He later suggested that if a fifth down had been possible, a different outcome might have followed, but the play unfolded without the needed yardage.

The Buccaneers did not return to Chicago for another game during Brady’s time there. Brimming with perspective years later, Brady said he couldn’t quite believe he forgot the down and that the moment underscored a harsh reality for quarterbacks: precision under pressure matters. He described the memory as a teachable moment and noted that, in his view, the misread reflected a rare lapse for a player who would go on to win another Super Bowl after leaving the Patriots.

Brady’s 2020 season with Tampa Bay culminated in a Vince Lombardi Trophy victory, the seventh in his career, as he guided the team to a championship after joining the Buccaneers. The quarterback’s return to form and resilience that year helped redefine the later chapters of his career, even as he looks back on that Soldier Field moment as a reminder of the game’s mental demands.

The Cowboys-Bears game is set to kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX on Sept. 21. Brady will be in the broadcast booth for FOX’s game call, alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, as Bears fans and Cowboys supporters alike anticipate a broader narrative around early-season form and the teams’ respective trajectories. The Bears enter the week seeking their first win of the season, while the Cowboys aim for a second consecutive victory in what FOX has labeled America’s Game of the Week.

As Brady continues to balance his role as an analyst with his long-standing quarterbacking legacy, he has used moments from his playing days to illustrate the importance of focus, down and distance awareness, and the pressure of late-game decisions. His reflections from the Soldier Field moment provide a rare, candid look at the mental discipline required at the highest levels of football, even for one of the game’s most accomplished players.

For fans following Brady’s insights and FOX’s coverage, Sunday’s broadcast will offer a convergence of historical context and current-season evaluation, with a former star reflecting on a memorable misread while continuing to analyze the game at the highest level. Additional coverage from Fox News Digital will continue in the lead-up to and after the game as the Cowboys and Bears contest unfolds.