CHICAGO — At some point, the New England Patriots' three game-winning streak was going to end. That happened at Soldier Field Thursday, as they ran into a Chicago Bears-shaped buzzsaw and couldn't get anything cooking.
Struggles upfront on an injury-depleted offensive line, penalties and an inability to stop the chunk play was what caused the Patriots to drop this one 30-24 to the Bears on a national stage. They kept it close in the final frame, but several long first downs from Rome Odunze wiped that dream away.
Drake Maye (23-for-29, 305 passing yards, two total touchdowns) was efficient, but couldn't will his team to the win. Instead, it was Caleb Williams (22-for-33, 308 passing yards, two passing touchdowns) who emerged victorious, handing the Patriots their first loss in the city of Chicago since 2000.
Here's what happened, and what it means moving forward.
1. OL Injuries Dictate Patriots Offense
The Patriots lost Alijah Vera-Tucker (who was placed on IR pregame) and Ben Brown last week in their win over the New York Jets. So they had to turn to Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse to step into the starting lineup.
it didn't go that well. The Bears continued to dial up pressure — both up the middle and off the edge — to make life difficult for Maye in the pocket. Chicago really got into the backfield consistently, allowing just 70 yards on the ground. They also sacked Maye twice.
The Patriots would get on the board with a seven-yard rushing touchdown from Maye, but for the most part, the ground game was not the way to go. They consistently lost battles in the trenches and it really took the running attack out of the playbook down the line.
2. Have A Day, Luther Burden III
For the entire first half, the Patriots struggled to stay on Burden in coverage. The speedy wideout — who came into the game with just 361 receiving yards on the year — tallied 130 receiving yards with a touchdown.
A 58-yard catch-and-run early helped set up a four-yard D'Andre Swift touchdown in the first quarter, and he'd hit paydirt himself on a weaving 24-yard score. The Patriots would soon adapt, and Burden would be shut down in the second half and held without a catch.
3. Drake Maye Throws Bad INT, But Kept Patriots In It
After several weeks of playing nearly-flawless football, Maye made his first bad decision in a while. Driving down the field, he tried to hit Eli Raridon in the end zone in the second quarter. He didn't put enough juice on the throw, and it was picked off by Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson.
That was the third time in seven games that Maye has been intercepted in the end zone this year, the most by any NFL quarterback. Other than that, the Patriots quarterback was good at getting the ball out to his open receivers.
He could have had A.J. Brown deep down the sideline, but the perfectly thrown ball was deflected by Malik Muhammed in coverage. Brown's night ended with just three catches and he's yet to make that big play the Patriots need him to make.
4. Unbeliveable Momentum Swing Heading Into Halftime
After Burden ran his way in for a touchdown and a 20-7 lead, it looked like the Patriots were heading into the locker room on life support. But somehow, someway, they made something out of nothing.
Maye connected with A.J. Brown on his first reception of the game, good for 18 yards. The Patriots would call a timeout with three ticks left and line up for appeared to be a Hail Mary attempt.
Instead, they checked it down to Rhamondre Stevenson out of the backfield. He would run and pick up some yardage against a Chicago defense playing pretty soft coverage. Then he'd cut back and pick up some more yardage. And more, until the Patriots running back waltzed into the end zone untouched. That 48-yard pickup was the longest play by New England all night, and got them back into the game.
5. Trading Second Half Haymakers
On the Bears' opening drive of the second half, they'd pick up chunk play after chunk play to drive deep into New England territory. Williams would roll out and hit tight end Colston Loveland — who'd power his way into the end zone and give the Bears the 27-14 lead.
But not so fast. Maye and the Patriots go on an impressive drive of their own in response. They drive 80 yards on nine plays, and it ends with Maye hitting Rairdon down the right seam for a 30-yard touchdown.
After back-to-back drives where both offenses sputtered out, the Bears would try to extend their lead with a Cairo Santos field goal. That 53-yard attempt would hit the right upright, giving the Patriots a chance — a chance they'd squander away after giving up a big sack on second down.
6. Defense Looked Slow, Couldn't Make Big Play
All night, the Patriots defense was just getting gashed. Whether it was a long pass from Williams to Odunze or a crisp off-tackle run for Swift that picked up a first down, it was difficult for the Patriots to make life difficult for the home team. The Bears had more than 400 total yards of offense, and that was even converting just four third downs.
But they were oh so close plenty of times. Kevin Byard nearly broke up a pass, but a dart from Williams to Odunze turned into a 21-yard pickup. Neither Milton Williams nor Christian Barmore — the team's top stars on the interior — could muster up any consistent pressure. Williams' ability to move in the pocket and scramble if needed really limited the impact that the Patriots could have done.
Barmore would sack Williams on a third down with 1:39 left, but Santos would drill a 58-field goal one play later to essentially put the nail in the coffin. Barmore would also get banged up on the play and leave the game.
7. Penalties, Penalties, Penalties
The Patriots lost to the Bears, but they also kept beating themselves.
They were flagged 10 times for 71 total yards, and consistently put themselves behind the 8-ball. A false start from Pryor turned what would have been a fourth down conversion attempt into a punt, and a Cory Durden encroachment flag gave the Bears a first down after the final two-minute warning.
It wasn't just the Patriots, though. The Bears were also called for eight penalties for 56 yards.
The Patriots, after playing two games in five days and now sitting at 4-3, will now have the next three days off.
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