In the waning seconds of the third quarter in the Chicago Bears' Week 3 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts dropped back on a fourth down around midfield. Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards dropped back into the perfect spot, with Hurts' pass ending up directly in his hands.
It was a crucial play at an important time for the Bears. Armed with a 20-7 lead, Case Keenum and the offense were able to put a final touchdown on the board to put the game fully out of reach and walk away with a win. The interception has drawn attention, though, with Edwards' positioning near the line-of-scrimmage being a source of mild scrutiny for those who didn't recognize the context.
In this case, Hurts was calling the play at the line of scrimmage.
With crowd volume at its height on fourth down, multiple Eagles players had closed in to hear the call. Edwards, who was showing blitz on the play before dropping back into coverage, was on the line at the play's start. So while he attempted to listen to the play call in question, it's not as if there was anything nefarious about his conduction. Camera angles being passed around social media convey Edwards as being far closer to the dialogue than he actually was.
For what it's worth, Edwards hadn't walked away from his bout of listening with any additional insight.
"No," Edwards said. "I was like, 'Maybe I'll hear some familiar stuff,' and like they must have changed language up because I had no idea what they were talking about."
The reality of the play is that it was a savvy move from a veteran linebacker on both ends. Listening in on the language of the play itself represents legitimate gamesmanship considering the nature of calling or changing a play at the line; dropping back directly into the precise spot where Hurts was set to throw is just a spot-on read. Edwards demonstrated both ends of his spectral value to this defense in the span of a few seconds.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: What Bears LB T.J. Edwards heard before his key INT vs. Eagles
