The last time Nick Foles played Tom Brady, he was en route to a Super Bowl MVP as the historic and improbable leader of the Philadelphia Eagles' first championship in nearly 60 years. A lot has changed since then, for both Foles and Brady. The former has changed teams twice and is now at least partially locked in as the Chicago Bears' quarterback after usurping Mitchell Trubisky back in Week 3, whereas Brady appears to be hitting his stride as the new face of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fresh off a five-touchdown explosion in Sunday's big win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Can Foles find a way to upset Brady again, with Chicago (3-1) trying to keep pace with the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North? Or will Brady keep rolling and help the Buccaneers (3-1) stay atop the NFC South? We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, here's everything you need to know to prepare yourself for the Week 5 kickoff:
How to watch
Date: Thursday, Oct. 8 | Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Location: Soldier Field (Chicago, Illinois)
TV: Fox, NFL Network, Amazon Prime | Stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Prediction
Foles fell back to Earth against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 4 after shining off the bench the week prior, but he should benefit from staying at home on a short week. The trust he has in Allen Robinson -- and the aggressiveness to just put the ball up there for him -- should also give Chicago a handful of big plays against Tampa Bay. If Khalil Mack and Co. can step up in the trenches, meanwhile, the Bears have a reasonable chance of limiting Bruce Arians' offense, which is quite banged up in the wake of the Bucs' win over Los Angeles with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Leonard Fournette, Scotty Miller and Rob Gronkowski all nursing injuries.
Still, as classic as it'd be to see Foles get another improbable nod over Brady, the Bucs remain the superior team. Their defense allowed some big plays against the Chargers but has generally been overlooked, and it's a safe bet that Brady will have at least a few of those banged-up weapons ready to go by Thursday night. It might not be pretty, but Arians has both the guts and the talent to steal a road victory here and send Tampa Bay to 4-1 atop the South.
2020 Bucs NFL Power Rankings Week 5
The Buccaneers sit in sole possession of first place in the NFC South… still. Quarterback Tom Brady had a career day against the Los Angeles Chargers and the defense fought back – was that enough to show the experts that Tampa Bay is the real deal?
It seems most experts now agree that the Buccaneers have something going in Tampa Bay, ranking them solidly in the top 10. USA Today's Nate Davis has them ranked as high as six, which is a drastic change of tune from the beginning of the season.
And why wouldn't they? Quarterback Tom Brady engineered the second-biggest comeback in franchise history to give the Bucs their first 3-1 start since 2011. He threw five touchdowns to five different receivers and threw for 369 yards, proving that you're never quite out of it with the "Comeback Kid" under center. The defense then sealed the deal with a late interception by cornerback Carlton Davis as the Chargers were driving down only one score. It was a team effort to make up for some early miscues and overcoming adversity is what the good teams do well, right?
Yet, ESPN is still not convinced, not only ranking them outside the top 10, but also below the New Orleans Saints, despite the fact that the Bucs sit solely in first place of the division the two teams share. Make it make sense.
See the full list of NFL power rankings below.
Find out where the Bucs landed on this week's Power Rankings. And to ensure your powered electronics and appliances are always protected, sign up today for Tampa Electric's Zap Cap Systems! Receive FREE installation when you sign up by 11/30, a $44.95 value. Visit http://tampaelectric.com/zapcap
NFL.com, Dan Hanzus
Rank: 8
Last Week: 10
NFL Top 5: Chiefs, Packers, Ravens, Bills, Steelers
NFC South: Saints (11), Panthers (15), Falcons (28)
Week 5 Opponent Ranking: Bears (22)
CBSSports.com, Pete Prisco
Rank: 8
Last Week: 9
NFL Top 5: Chiefs, Packers, Steelers, Bills, Seahawks
NFC South: Saints (12), Panthers (15), Falcons (27)
Week 5 Opponent Ranking: Bears (14)
USA Today
Rank: 6
Last Week: 8
NFL Top 5: Chiefs, Packers, Seahawks, Ravens, Steelers
NFC South: Saints (14), Panthers (15), Falcons (24)
Week 5 Opponent Ranking: Bears (18)
Yahoo!
Rank: 8
Last Week: 13
NFL Top 5: Chiefs, Ravens, Packers, Bills, Seahawks
NFC South: Saints (14), Panthers (18), Falcons (27),
Week 5 Opponent Ranking: Bears (17)
ESPN.com
Rank: 11
Last Week: 12
NFL Top 5: Chiefs, Seahawks, Packers, Ravens, Bills
NFC South: Saints (9), Panthers (22), Falcons (29)
Week 5 Opponent Ranking: Bears (15)
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