The Chicago Bears host the New England Patriots on Thursday night, and both teams will hope to keep their positive momentum after Week 5 victories.
The oddsmakers like Chicago's odds of coming away with a win on their home turf. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the Bears are currently three-point favorites over the defending AFC Champions.
We finally saw the type of performance we expected from Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and tight end Colston Loveland on Sunday against Atlanta. We like their odds of keeping the good times rolling with the Patriots on deck.
Caleb Williams throws for 325 yards, 3 TDs
This will be another week where the Bears' offensive success will largely fall on Caleb Williams' shoulders. The Patriots have a stout run defense (allowing 91.8 yards per game on the ground, ninth-best in the league), and Kyle Monangai won't be available for Chicago. D'Andre Swift has also been battling lingering hip and knee injuries in recent weeks and hasn't looked 100%.
Luckily for the Bears, Williams is more than capable of rising to the occasion. He did just that last week against Atlanta, completing 30 of 36 attempts for 306 yards and a touchdown.
With Drake Maye looking much more like the MVP runner-up than the one who struggled in the playoffs (and early this season) in recent weeks, the Patriots will put up more of a fight than Atlanta did. That could cause a slight bump over last week's numbers out of sheer necessity.
We also like Zavion Thomas' odds of having a bigger role this week. Seeing him get three targets over his ten snaps felt like a situation where they want to get his feet wet. With the Patriots focusing on Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze, they'll dial up a deep shot to Thomas, and the rookie's speed will catch them off guard. Williams will benefit with a robust stat line featuring 325 yards and 3 TDs.
Colston Loveland eclipses 100 yards
Naturally, with Williams going for 325, the Bears pass-catchers will eat. We think Colston Loveland will build upon last week's performance (when he FINALLY got involved in the passing attack with six grabs for 65 yards and a TD) and eclipse 100 receiving yards against New England.
The Patriots have been strong against tight ends this season with the exception of their Week 5 matchup against Las Vegas. In the other five games, they've allowed an average of 3.8 catches for 31.6 receiving yards to opposing TEs. In that contest, however, Brock Bowers had eight grabs for 110 yards and a receiving TD.
With Loveland's skill set being much closer to Bowers than the other tight ends they've faced, we could see him replicate that performance on Thursday night. He should be a big part of the gameplan each week going forward after a rough start to the season.
The Bears sack Drake Maye five times
The Patriots entered last week's game against the Jets with a precarious offensive line situation, with three players on Injured Reserve (including their starting RG Mike Onwenu). Unfortunately, that situation has become treacherous after three more linemen left the contest with injuries.
Both starting guards have already been ruled out for Thursday night's contest, and tackle Morgan Moses is officially listed as questionable after getting in three limited practices this week. Long story short, their o-line is very banged up, and the Bears should be able to capitalize on that fact.
The Bears are surprisingly tied for fifth in the league with 17 sacks. Their defensive front has vastly outperformed expectations thus far. That trend will continue against New England.
Maye has been sacked only twice over the past three weeks after being taken down three times in each of the Patriots' first three games. Even with the Bears missing a few key defensive linemen, he won't find as much success against Dennis Allen's highly aggressive approach.
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