EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Take it from the player who threw the touchdown on the original ‘‘Philly Special’’: What running back Tarik Cohen did Sunday against the Giants was remarkable.
The Bears ran the trick play while trailing 27-20 with three seconds left. Cohen, who took a handoff from tight end Trey Burton, was supposed to throw the ball to quarterback Chase Daniel. But Daniel was covered, so Cohen made his progressions and found receiver Anthony Miller for a one-yard touchdown pass.
‘‘It’s extremely challenging,’’ said Burton, who threw the ball to quarterback Nick Foles in the Eagles’ Super Bowl victory last season. ‘‘It’s wet out there. He hasn’t thrown the ball in Lord knows when. He made a great play.’’
Cohen said he didn’t worry when Daniel was covered.
‘‘If my second read would have been covered, then I probably would have panicked,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve just gotta try to be a playmaker, be the playmaker that I am.’’
Cohen was certainly that against the Giants, setting a career high with 186 yards from scrimmage. His career-best 156 receiving yards were the most by a Bears running back since at least 1960, and his 12 catches tied Matt Forte’s single-game record (set in 2014) for a Bears running back.
Cohen and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only players in NFL history to post at least 12 catches, 150 receiving yards and a passing touchdown in the same game.
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But defensive end Akiem Hicks was most impressed by Cohen’s effort on the Bears’ last drive of regulation.
‘‘I looked in his eyes,’’ Hicks said. ‘‘I could see how tired he was, I could see how depleted he was, but I could also see he wasn’t gonna stop because he knew how much it meant to us.’’
Nagy mum on Kareem Hunt
After the game, coach Matt Nagy was asked if the Bears planned on placing a waiver claim on former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, who was cut Friday after video surfaced of him assaulting a woman.
‘‘I’m not gonna get into that,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘I think, me personally, just the entire situation is unfortunate for everybody involved. And so that’s not where we’re at. We’re focusing on today and who this team is.’’
Nagy coached Hunt with the Chiefs last season and often has praised his running style. Hunt will go through waivers Monday but doesn’t figure to play again this season because he is on the commissioner’s exempt list and awaiting a suspension.
This and that
Jordan Howard ran for 76 yards, his third-highest total of the season, and his 25-yard run in the second quarter was his longest all season.
He moved into eighth place on the Bears’ all-time rushing list with 3,047 yards, passing Willie Galimore and Roland Harper.
• Cornerback Kyle Fuller intercepted his sixth pass of the season, tying him with the Falcons’ Damontae Kazee for the most in the league.
