Many felt that going into Thursday night's Week 7 matchup, the New England Patriots would play from behind most of the night. That indeed was the case. The Chicago Bears opened with a drive that led to a field goal, followed by a five-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 4-yard D'Andre Swift touchdown to take an early 10-0 lead.
The Bears would have had a two-possession lead over the Patriots going into the locker room at halftime; then, with nine seconds left, Drake Maye would connect with A.J. Brown for the first time in the game, and a timeout would follow.
With the game clock reset to three seconds, Maye found Rhamondre Stevenson for a 48-yard touchdown pass. The Patriots still trailed 20-14 at the break, but it was a statement going into the locker room.
It's there that, despite the Bears holding a six-point lead going into the half, it still felt like the Patriots had the edge to stay in this game.
Caleb Williams immediately opened the half, orchestrating a nine-play, 72-yard drive capped with a 12-yard pass to tight end Colston Loeveland.
Despite a few penalties, Drake Maye answered the call with a 30-yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Eli Raridon, bringing it back to a six-point differential.
It felt like every time the Bears stretched the field and got some leeway, the Patriots somehow clawed their way back into the mix. Thursday Night Football was a back-and-forth battle between the two 4-2 teams. A prime example: Drake Maye led a drive down to the red zone in the fourth quarter, moving with momentum to take a small lead if they found the end zone.
D'Marco Jackson would then intercept Maye in the end zone, and the Bears drove downfield to make it 20-7 after a Luther Burden III touchdown. The Patriots followed with the previously mentioned shocking Stevenson touchdown pass before the half.
Then, with a little over eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter, in the home of the "double doink" kick, Bears kicker Cairo Santos would miss a 53-yard field goal attempt as it bounced off the goalposts, giving the ball back to the Patriots with decent field position as they trailed by six.
The story of the night continues; the Patriots kept sticking around even when they were behind.
But then the Bears got the ball with six minutes to go and bled the clock on the Patriots. Despite a back-to-back call on the Bears, Williams found wide receiver Rome Odunze twice to keep the ball and the clock moving.
The Patriots bled their timeouts after the two-minute warning, but on third-and-five, Christian Barmore, who was injured on the play, would sack Williams and force Santos to kick a 58-yard field goal attempt.
Santos' kick was good, making it 30-21 Bears. If he misses, Drake Maye gets the ball with half a field and 94 seconds to win.
An A.J. Brown catch, followed by a Jaylon Johnson PI call on Efton Chism on the ensuing drive, put the Patriots close to field goal range, which they needed to reach before attempting an outside kick or going for a touchdown.
After Maye found Douglas, Maye would spike the ball and bank on Andy Borregales to get the Patriots back within six from 47 yards. He succeeded and gave the Patriots a chance with 37 seconds left.
Borregales' onside kick didn't pan out, as Odunze would land on it and seal a 30-24 win over the Bears.
Despite the loss and a slide to a 4-3 record, Maye still threw for 305 yards and went 23-of-28 (82.1%) with 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 2 sacks, for a QB rating of 121.
A.J. Brown had a few moments tonight, finishing better than Sunday against the Jets with three catches for 48 yards on six attempts. Still, his performance felt lackluster, as Patriots fans seemed to be waiting for a breakout performance in a Patriots jersey.
The Patriots won't see the field for another week and a half when they head to South Beach to take on the currently winless Miami Dolphins.
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