5 moments that defined the Patriots’ loss to the Bears

The New England Patriots’ win streak came to an end on Thursday night versus the Chicago Bears. In what was a competitive game for the most part, the team of head coach Mike Vrabel suffered a 30-24 defeat.

Here is a Patriots-centric view at some of those key moments from the Week 7 contest.

Moment No. 1: Game of inches

The Patriots offense had its fair share of issues to start the game, but it finally showed some life early second quarter. Driving all the way up to the Bears 7-yard line, quarterback Drake Maye finished the series off himself:

Maye’s ninth career rushing touchdown gave the Patriots some much-needed offensive momentum, but it only counted because Mike Vrabel had the challenge flag ready. The third-year QB was initially ruled down short of the goal line, but Vrabel — likely at the behest of his right-hand man, John “Stretch” Streicher — successfully. disputed the spot.

Moment No. 2: Bad memories

With the offense starting to show signs of life, the Patriots were in a position to take the lead late in the second quarter. But while they did return to the Chicago red zone, a promising drive ended in disappointment.

Instead of the Patriots coming away with points, Drake Maye threw an interception reminiscent of his early-season work: he failed to see the defender underneath and did not put enough air on the ball for an easy interception in the end zone. In what ended as a one-score game, it was a crucial play — one made even worse by Chicago scoring a touchdown on the ensuing possession.

Moment No. 3: Madness

The Bears left only nine seconds on the clock for the Patriots to end the first half, but that’s all they needed. Scoring their longest end-of-half touchdown in 16 years, they cut into what was a 13-point deficit at that point.

The drive started with A.J. Brown’s first catch of the day, before Rhamondre Stevenson took a short pass 48 yards into the end zone. Despite Chicago defending the long play, the veteran running back had to evade just one tackle attempt — a testament to his vision and his teammates’ blocking downfield.

Moment No. 4: Penalty woes

The Patriots and Bears were both flagged quite often on Thursday, getting penalized a combined 19 times. Every penalty is a potentially costly play, but the biggest “what could have been” flag came on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Down 27-21 and with the ball at their 48-yard line, the Patriots were prepared to go for it on 4th-and-2. A conversion was not a guarantee — they had missed one attempt earlier in the game — but momentum seemingly was on New England’s side after scoring touchdowns on back-to-back possessions before that moment. Alas, Matt Pryor jumping offsides forced Mike Vrabel to reconsider and opt for a punt instead.

Moment No. 5: Opportunity missed

Trailing by six points with 5 minutes left on the clock, the Patriots defense found itself in what should be a favorable position: in a 3rd-and-9 at the Bears 10-yard line. A stop, and Drake Maye and company would get the ball in possibly good field position with plenty of time left on the clock.

However, that stop never happened.

Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze showed why they are one of the top young quarterback-receiver tandems in the league, by hooking up for 21 yards despite Marcus Jones being all over the pass catcher. Still, Odunze hang on and the conversion gave Chicago’s offense some breathing room. It eventually went on to three more minutes off the clock before kicking what was effectively a game-icing field goal.