This Bears-Patriots matchup is all about the kid quarterbacks
Chicago's Caleb Williams and New England's Drake Maye went Nos. 1 and 3 in April’s draft.
Welcome to Season 13, Episode 10 of the Unconventional Preview, a serious yet lighthearted, nostalgia-tinted look at the Patriots’ weekly matchup …
Sure, there are other commonalities between the Patriots and Bears besides the most obvious and important one.
Neither team has a head coach that inspires confidence at the moment. Jerod Mayo reminds us weekly around here that coaches also make rookie mistakes.
Bears boss Matt Eberflus has a 14-28 record and left designated franchise savior Caleb Williams in the game to take an unnecessary thumping late in last week’s 29-9 loss to the Cardinals.
Both teams have porous offensive lines, primarily but not entirely due to attrition. The Patriots’ situation up front is so disorganized that Mike Onwenu — by far their best lineman, and best deployed as the right guard — is reportedly being moved to left guard for reasons that feel more desperate than strategic.
The Bears’ situation is remarkably similar — they have used 12 offensive linemen this season, and have allowed 29 sacks. That sounds bad, at least until you realize the Patriots have used 13 linemen — 13! — and have allowed 31 sacks.
But the most compelling and relevant comparison is also the most obvious: the kid QBs. Williams and the Patriots’ Drake Maye went Nos. 1 and 3 in April’s draft, and considering that Commanders phenomenon Jayden Daniels was the No. 2 pick, it is entirely possible that all three could end up fulfilling every hope of the team that drafted them.
Of course, could is the operative word. Since taking over as the starter in Week 6 against the Texans, Maye has brought a jolt of electricity to the Patriots, not just with his passing ability (he has thrown for 770 yards, with six touchdowns and four interceptions, including two last Sunday against the Titans) but an elusiveness as a runner that is at least somewhat reminiscent of a young Steve Grogan.
Maye has 141 rushing yards over the past two games, which broke Grogan’s record of 132, set in 1976, for the most by a Patriots quarterback over back-to-back games.
Maye’s relative success — and the optimism he has provided that the Patriots have their franchise quarterback — is all the more impressive given the degree of difficulty he faces.
The Patriots’ offensive huddle isn’t exactly crowded with reliable talent, and Maye often finds himself under siege. The Titans sacked him four times, and many of his 95 rushing yards came from escaping heavy pressure. The Bears, led by Gervon Dexter (4 sacks) and Montez Sweat (3.5), rank 10th in the league with 23 sacks, so they are certain to put the heat on him.
Maye will have to protect the ball (the Bears have 15 takeaways, fourth in the NFL) and hope his mediocre-at-best receiving corps can get open against a defense that allows just 191.3 passing yards per game (eighth in the league). It’s a lot to ask, but four starts into his career, Maye should be used to the ridiculous demands this roster is placing on him.
Williams (1,665 yards, 9 touchdowns, 5 interceptions) has considerably more talent on his side to work with than Maye, a friend since they attended an elite quarterback camp together in high school. But he has endured the inconsistencies that come for even the most promising rookie quarterbacks.
The Bears, ranked 19th at 21.5 points per game, have scored just 24 points the past two weeks in losses to the Commanders (on a Daniels Hail Mary) and Cardinals. Williams doesn’t have a touchdown pass in that span, and last week he was sacked six times while throwing for just 217 yards.
Watching Williams and Maye meet for the first time is appealing, and there will be some highlight plays that confirm how bright their futures are. But the one who prevails on the scoreboard likely will be the one that makes fewer rookie mistakes.
Kick it off, Slye, and let’s get this thing started …
Three players worth watching other than the quarterbacks
D’Andre Swift: As irresistible as it is to focus on the precocious quarterbacks, the running game for both sides is going to be an enormous factor.
And yes, that probably bodes best for the Bears.
Over the past four games, the Patriots have allowed 192, 171, 112 (to the Jets, who didn’t run enough), and 167 rushing yards. The Titans’ Tony Pollard hit their now-26th-ranked rush defense (136.9 yards per game) for 128 yards and a touchdown last week.
The Bears’ running game has been inconsistent (112.5 yards per game, 23rd), but leading rusher Swift (505 yards, 4 TDs) has had his moments, including 129 yards on just 18 carries against the Commanders. All four of his touchdowns have come in the last five games. Swift should thrive against the depleted Patriots, who probably couldn’t slow Curtis Enis at this point.
Conversely, the Patriots’ running game has been one of their areas of underachievement. Rhamondre Stevenson has just 82 yards on 37 carries over the past three games as the mix-’n’-match offensive line struggles to create holes. The Bears’ run defense is adequate at best (131.6 yards per game, 19th), but adequate seems to give the Patriots an awful lot of trouble.
Marcus Jones: He has been a game-changer as a punt returner on top of the toughness he has shown as an undersized cornerback (he has played 63 percent of the Patriots’ defensive snaps).
Jones — who had a 62-yard return in the win over the Jets two weeks ago, and 44- and 25-yarders against the Titans, the latter setting up the tying touchdown — is averaging 15.6 yards per return.
That puts him second in the league to Kalif Raymond of the Lions (via Holy Cross), who is averaging 16.6.
Jones, who turned 26 on Oct. 22, is one of the few current Patriots who looks like he’ll be a contributor to the next excellent Patriots team, presumably a few seasons down the road.
Hunter Henry: A reliable tight end can be a great friend to a young quarterback, and the veteran Henry has been just that to Maye.
Over the last four games — which include all of Maye’s starts, plus Jacoby Brissett’s relief effort against the Jets — Henry has 23 receptions on 28 targets for 234 yards and a touchdown. Last week, he caught 7 of 8 targets for 56 yards.
Overall, he leads the Patriots with 39 catches for 414 yards, ranking fourth and fifth in the NFL in those categories among tight ends. He is on pace for 74 catches and 782 yards, both of which would be career highs.
Henry, who turns 30 early in December, would be an important asset to a contending team at this stage of his career. Even though he made the choice to re-sign with the Patriots in the offseason, it can’t be a thrill to be part of a long rebuild. But the Patriots — and especially Maye — are fortunate to have his productivity and professionalism.
The flashback
All right, fine, we’ll acknowledge the truth: The Bears’ 46-10 humiliation of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX is now and forever the most famous matchup between these franchises. They have played 15 times, and they could play 150 times and no other game would resonate like that one. So rather than rehash the entire bludgeoning, let’s go with a quick item of trivia: Who scored the Patriots’ lone touchdown? If you remembered that it was Irving Fryar, whose 8-yard reception from Grogan cut the Bears’ lead to 44-10 early in the fourth quarter, there’s a decent chance that you are Irving Fryar.
Grievance of the week
When you’re carrying seven receivers on the 53-man roster, as the Patriots are, that’s a sign of one of two things:
1. You have passing-game weaponry to match the 2007 Patriots.
2. You have even less passing-game weaponry than the 2006 Patriots.
It’s obviously the latter with this group of alleged Patriots pass catchers, which rather than aiding Maye is one more disadvantage that he must overcome.
Slightly past the halfway mark of the season, DeMario Douglas leads the wide receivers with … 306 receiving yards. Kayshon Boutte is second with 203.
That was two weeks’ work, three at the most, for Randy Moss and Wes Welker during those ‘07 glory days.
No one expects anything resembling that kind of production, of course. But some competence would be nice. Kendrick Bourne seemed like the best candidate for stability, and maybe he still is, but even he made back-to-back poor plays against the Titans (a penalty followed by a third-down route short of the marker).
It struck me as somewhat of a surprise that the Patriots didn’t move on from any of their unproductive receivers at the trade deadline — such as K.J. Osborn, who was inactive against the Titans, or Tyquan Thornton. Any offers for them must have been as underwhelming as the players themselves.
The Bears have plenty in common with the Patriots, but it’s awfully easy to look at what Williams has to work with and develop a case of receiver envy.
D.J. Moore (37 catches, 374 yards, 3 TDs, one bizarre instance of walking off the field mid-play), a bulked-up and aging Keenan Allen (21-197-2) and rookie Rome Odunze (25-391-1) are all better than any receivers running patterns for the Patriots.
Maybe this sums up the difference best: Odunze, the ninth overall pick in April’s draft, had more receiving yards against the Cardinals (104) than his University of Washington teammate Ja’Lynn Polk has all season for the Patriots (78).
Prediction, or Walter Payton should have scored a touchdown, and you know it, Ditka
This week’s operative number is 9. The Bears have won nine in a row at Soldier Field. The Patriots are one of nine teams this season with two wins. The Bears’ home streak will continue, and the Patriots will remain on track for the No. 1 pick in the draft. Bears 19, Patriots 16.
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