The Chicago Bears were about to head into halftime with a 20-7 lead over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football when they gave up one of the worst touchdowns of the season. The Bears’ defense appeared to be ill-prepared to defend in a situation where the Patriots should have been throwing deep.
The Bears scored 14-seconds left in the second quarter. The Patriots got an average kick return and then Drake Maye completed a pass down the middle to A.J. Brown to get them to midfield with three seconds remaining in the half. That’s when the Bears did the unthinkable and sent six pass rushers on the final play of the half.
Maye simply threw a short pass to Rhamondre Stevenson who had come out of the backfield unguarded and basically ran the ball untouched into the end zone. One defender may have gotten a hand on him, but it doesn’t matter. There was no tackle. It was one of the easiest 48-yard touchdown passes Maye will ever throw.
MORE: How Chicago Bears are honoring Mike Ditka on TNF
RHAMONDRE STEVENSON‼️ 📺 Prime Video https://t.co/heXDiTFnzW
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) October 23, 2026
You know how unbelievable a play has to be to get that kind of volume out of Al Michaels in 2026?
The dots are even more infuriating to anyone who appreciates good defense.
MORE: Joe Buck snapped at ‘cold, difficult’ Troy Aikman during heated confrontation
Rhamondre Stevenson’s 48-yard TD reception as time expired in the first half more than doubled the Patriots’ win probability, from 10.2% to 24.5%. Stevenson gained 47 yards after the catch, +23 YAC over expected. He had just a 4.3% chance of scoring. @NEvsCHI | #NEPats https://t.co/9h9YBz8DTI
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 23, 2026
The Bears ended up scoring on their opening drive of the second half, but instead of it looking like the game was over, the Patriots were still only down two touchdowns with nearly 25 minutes remaining.
—Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter—