Anthony Thomas was resplendent on the sidelines Sunday–his uniform perfectly clean, a stocking cap on his head and his helmet in his hand.
On a day when the Bears needed every weapon they could find, they didn’t use one of the key figures in the three-game winning streak that Indianapolis ended mercilessly 41-10 Sunday.
“They didn’t say anything,” Thomas said. “I found out when I didn’t play.”
In the previous three games, with Thomas Jones out with a sprained toe, Thomas saved the Bears’ running game. He rushed for 280 total yards in victories over the 49ers, Giants and Titans.
His reward was a Sunday off.
It’s not that someone should play just because he played well in relief of someone else. In this case, the Bears needed more than a one-running-back attack.
Their only hope of upsetting the Colts when quarterback Peyton Manning is having one of the best seasons in history was to keep the ball away from him. Pound away at the middle of a soft defense. Complement that attack by running Jones outside. Try to run the ball 40 times, given that you have two backs who can share the load.
Instead, the Bears came out throwing. Why? Surprise that great Indianapolis defense? They probably shocked the Colts when offensive coordinator Terry Shea called for Craig Krenzel passes on the first three plays.
The Colts drove for a touchdown on their first possession and cruised to an easy win.
Why not make the Colts play against two different styles of running backs? It’s working for other teams, with the Steelers using Duce Staley and Jerome Bettis. The Falcons find work for both Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett.
“The thought was, we’re always going to play the guy we think gives us the best chance to win,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Once you get into the game, things change. You have a game plan you’d like to use as far as game time, but that changes as you get into the game, and that’s what happened to [Thomas].”
So falling behind early took him out of the game?
“That was part of it, and we wanted to go in a different direction,” Smith said. “Next question.”
The Bears were still down only 7-0 when they got the ball back for their third possession, and they did drive for a field goal.
By the time they got the ball again, they were down 14-3, and things were getting out of hand. That drive ended with a fumble after the first two of five penalties against the offensive line.
The Colts then drove for a field goal to make it 17-3, and that was pretty much the game. Thanks to the defense he had at Tampa Bay and the offense he has in Indianapolis, a Tony Dungy-coached team has never lost after taking a 14-point lead, going 41-0. One reason Thomas deserved a chance is that Jones has not clearly outperformed him. Since Rex Grossman’s season-ending knee injury in the third game, Jones has averaged 3.5 yards per carry and Thomas 3.4. Jones’ longest run has been for 18 yards, while Thomas has carried for 41 and 28.
Jones, who was signed to replace Thomas as the starter because he suited the new system better, said he knew Friday he was well enough to play.
“I felt I could put pressure on it and cut, stop and start,” he said. “Once you get in the flow of the game, you just block it out.”
On Sunday, Jones carried 18 times for 59 yards with a long run of 18 yards.
“We really hurt ourselves with penalties and turnovers,” Jones said. “We turned it over on our side of the field and helped them score quick touchdowns, and once you’re down by three touchdowns, you have to throw the ball and it’s harder on an offensive coordinator.”
With the game decided, Jones was taken out of the game for the Bears’ last possession.
“I could have finished, but they wanted Adrian Peterson, a young guy, to go in, and the game was out of hand,” Jones said.
The Bears have used Thomas only when Jones was injured or temporarily fatigued. They’ve talked about getting both into the game at the same time, but it has turned out to be only talk.
At least they didn’t ask him to play in garbage time Sunday.
It was the prime-time plan that stumped him.
“I’m fine, healthy as a horse,” Thomas said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s the name of the game. It’s a business.”
It certainly will become a business for Thomas after the season, when he will be an unrestricted free agent and will sell his services to another team.
He’ll take some fond Chicago memories with him. But none of them will be from Sunday.
