Trubisky SCRAMBLES the Patriots!

The New England Patriots held on to beat the Chicago Bears today, 38-31.  Though the home fans left the game disappointed, they did have reason to cheer like crazy near the end of the 1st quarter.  The Bears had 3rd and 6 at the Pats' 8-yard line.  Bears QB Mitch Trubisky (#10) was lined up in the shotgun (click on image for a larger view).

The Patriots had a defender on every Bears receiver.  You can see Trubisky at the 13-yard line on the right hash mark, ready for the snap.  After the play began, the Patriots' end-zone coverage was great, and the Bears' pocket eventually broke down.  Trubisky scrambled backwards and to his right.  By the time he got to the 25-yard line, Pats' defensive end Adrian Clayborn (#94) nearly grabbed Trubisky (click on image for a larger view).

But Trubisky wasn't finished distancing himself from the end zone.  He actually ran just past the Pats' 30-yard line (click on image for a larger view).

At this point, about 5.27 seconds had elapsed since Trubisky received the snap, and the play wasn't even half over!  You can see that Trubisky had set his sights on the left side of the field.  He kept angling left, nearly stopping at one point as he surveyed the field.  By the time he got just past the 25-yard line, Trubisky knew he was going for the end zone.  He turned on the jets, hitting a maximum speed of about 18 mph.  He finally scored 11.8 seconds after the play began.  He had run a total distance of about 72 yards, which means his average speeds was 12.5 mph.  Compare that to the measly 1.4 mph someone could have walked the 8 yards to the end zone in 11.8 seconds.  Check out the score (click on image for a larger view).

Though he didn't output this much energy during his mad scramble, Mitch Trubisky had an internal energy burn of about 7 Calories.  That's roughly the same as the two tablespoons of mustard on a couple of Chicago-style hot dogs.  It was too bad Trubisky couldn't burn off the two interceptions he threw on the day.

The best block on the play took place right as Trubisky scored.  310-lb Bears center Cody Whitehair (#65) was running over 14 mph when he slammed into 205-lb Pats safety Duron Harmon (#21).  You can see them together in the above image, but look at the initial collision (click on image for a larger view).

With pads and helmets on those guys, the collision involved a combined weight of about 565 pounds.  Harmon was hit at school zone speed and got squashed! (click on image for a larger view)

Gary O'Reilly of Playing with Science joined me on today's Check Down piece we did for TuneIn's 1st & Goal.  Click here for the audio link.