CHICAGO — It lived up to the hype, that's for sure.
The second-ever meeting between Drake Maye and Caleb Williams was far better than their first one two seasons ago. The young quarterbacks for the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears had excellent days for their respective sides on Thursday Night Football, with Williams' Bears grabbing the 30-24 win in the final moments.
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda," Maye told reporters postgame. "I'm proud of the guys for the effort. I think we did some good things, we've got a lot of stuff to clean up."
But that loss wasn't on Maye's shoulders, at least not entirely. The 24-year-old went 24-for-31 for 347 total yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). It was a fantastic effort by Maye, who kept the Patriots offense in the game all night.
And yet, it was Williams' scrambling and elite arm talent that led the Bears. He finished the night going 22-for-33 for 308 yards and two passing touchdowns, and hit Rome Odunze on a pair of first downs that started to break the Patriots' proverbial defensive back.
It was two juggernauts dueling it out.
Patriots QB Earn Praise, Despite The L
"Drake's a competitor, man," tight end Hunter Henry said in the locker room. "That's what he does. We always got a chance when 10's back there, that's for sure."
"He did a great job extending plays," A.J. Brown, who caught three passes in the loss, said. "He did great."
Maye's one blip on his radar was a bad interception in the first half. Looking to hit rookie Eli Raridon in the end zone, he didn't put enough air on his pass and Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson picked it off. It was Maye's third INT thrown in the end zone this season, the most in the entire NFL.
On the other side of the field, Williams completed eight passes of 20+ yards, tied for the most by any quarterback in 2026. He didn't turn the ball over and used his legs to buy some time for his receivers, which hurt the Patriots secondary's ability to defend "the second play."
Williams Was A Worthy Foe
"We talked about it all week," Christian Gonzalez said. "He's very gifted with how he can run and how he can extend plays. ... You gotta defend the second play. There's a play and then there's a second play with a quarterback like Caleb."
"Anytime a quarterback that's as mobile as him gets out of the pocket, they definitely put stress on the DBs," Charles Woods told Patriots On SI. "It's definitely difficult, but that's what we signed up."
Williams ran for just 18 yards, but his legs helped set up some of the game's biggest plays. He rolled out to find Colston Loveland on a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter. He escaped the pocket to help pick up big conversions late in the fourth. He was the victor in Week 7, and deservingly so.
If this was the type of matchup these two young quarterbacks can provide, watch out NFL. Instead of rookie gunslingers on bad teams in 2024, these were two grown quarterbacks that offer plenty of skills under center. It was a fun one to watch at Soldier Field.
"I just appreciate we have him back there and (to) be able to block for him," Walter Rouse, who started his first game of the season at left guard, told Patriots On SI. "Drake's an awesome, great guy."
The loss wasn't the outcome the Patriots had hoped for, but it was a gutsy effort by their quarterback. It's just the latest in a string of them, and it's proving why he's the face of this franchise.
"He gave us a chance," Mike Vrabel said. "He competed. ... He'll learn from it like he always does. I'm glad he's ours."
Add us as a preferred source on Google