Skip to main content
Advertising

That's why he's a punter: Henry's wounded duck sinks Eagles

Chas Henry warmed up his arm on the sideline Monday night and waited to run a fake punt that he had practiced all week.

On NFL Network
"NFL Replay" will re-air the Bears' 30-24 win over the Eagles on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 8 p.m. ET.

Then the rookie showed why he's a punter, not a quarterback.

Henry's pass to a wide-open Colt Anderson bounced, and the Philadelphia Eagles fell short -- again.

After Chicago took a 27-24 lead on Jay Cutler's TD pass to Earl Bennett, the Eagles reached the Bears' 42-yard line on their next drive. On fourth-and-6, Henry faked the punt but missed Anderson with the pass, and Chicago took over possession.

"I saw he was wide open. I didn't want to overthrow him, and I just babied it over there," Henry said. "We run it in practice about every day, just working on it in case that situation ever happens. We knew that they had done it in the past and just didn't get it done."

Henry hasn't always been a punter. He was recruited as a quarterback at Florida after leading East Paulding High School to the quarterfinals of the Georgia state playoffs by throwing for more than 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Henry spent a lot of time Monday night throwing passes to long snapper Jon Dorenbos on the sideline in the second quarter, presumably practicing for the fake punt. It didn't work.

"Pretty seldom do we have a guy completely uncovered and have a chance to make a big play," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "We didn't execute."

And the Bears took advantage. A pass-interference penalty on Nnamdi Asomugha at the Eagles' 7-yard line prolonged the drive. The defense stiffened, and Gould hit a 22-yard field goal for the final margin, 30-24.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.