4 takeaways from Patriots’ 19-3 win over Bears
New England's defense finished with nine total sacks on Sunday afternoon.
After a frustrating overtime loss to the Titans in Week 9, the Patriots rebounded on Sunday with an encouraging 19-3 win over the Chicago Bears.
An anticipated matchup between two promising rookie QBs in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye was the main draw at Soldier Field, but only one signal-caller delivered — as New England’s defense shut down Williams and the Bears throughout the afternoon thanks to a whopping nine sacks.
Add in encouraging performances in both individual play and team-wide execution, and Sunday was a step in the right direction for a 3-7 Patriots team.
Here are four takeaways from Sunday’s win for New England.
A much-needed response
Expectations weren’t all that high for New England entering Week 10, especially after a discouraging overtime loss against the Titans last week.
Even with Drake Maye stuffing the stat sheet in Nashville, New England’s erosion on the defensive side of the ball, coaching miscues, and overall malaise cast a pall over the state of a rebuilding roster.
But Sunday marked a step in the right direction for all parties. While Maye once again was solid (amid a few more rookie mistakes), several other areas of New England’s roster also improved — be it a dominant defensive effort (nine sacks, 142 net yards for Chicago), the ground game (144 total rushing yards for the Patriots) and New England’s receiving corps (three players with 40+ receiving yards).
Yes, the Bears have severely regressed over the last month. But good on New England for taking advantage of a “get-right” game and putting some momentum back in their favor past the midway mark of the 2024 season.
Maye, offense rebound
At the start, it looked as though it was going to be another long afternoon for Maye and New England’s offense.
Beyond a field goal from Joey Slye in the first quarter, New England labored out of the gate — going 3-and-out on its first drive before Maye was knocked for his fifth interception resulting from a poor throw that was picked off by linebacker T.J. Edwards.
Turnovers hindered Maye and the Patriots in Week 9 against Tennessee, but New England’s defense bailed their QB out — with Chicago punting on the subsequent drive despite starting on its own 48-yard line.
After that miscue, Maye started to settle into a rhythm to end the first half. In the closing minutes of the second quarter, New England reeled off a 10-play, 70-yard drive that ended with Maye hitting Ja’Lynn Polk for a two-yard touchdown.
It was a welcome result for Polk, who has struggled to find any semblance of traction during his rookie season — and a much-needed drive for a Patriots team that included three third-down conversions.
Maye went 5-for-5 on that drive for 54 yards, including his two-yard TD throw to Polk.
Despite Maye’s evident talent, some of his playmaking ability has been hindered this season by New England’s struggles in two-minute drills and execution in critical situations.
But the Patriots managed to cash in over crunch time at the end of the first half — tacking on another three points with limited time left on the clock.
After yet another Bears punt, Maye and the Patriots had the ball on their own 40-yard line (thanks to a 24-yard return from Marcus Jones) with 35 seconds left in the half.
New England gained 36 yards off of five plays over the subsequent stretch, with Maye putting his team in field-goal range after hitting Kayshon Boutte for a 23-yard gain.
Maye and the Patriots’ offense ran up and spiked the ball with one second left on the clock, with Chicago also whistled for a defensive offside after Montez Sweat didn’t get back to the line of scrimmage before the ball was spiked.
New England ended the half with yet another Slye field goal to take a 13-3 lead entering the third quarter.
Some penalty woes did snuff out a few more promising drives for New England in the second half, but the Patriots’ offense did enough to come away with a win.
Maye completed 15-of-25 passes for 184 yards, one touchdown, and one interception — while also gaining 24 yards off of four carries.
Defense dominates
Make no mistake, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears seem rudderless at this stage of the season. The body language on Chicago’s collective roster said it all for most of the afternoon, with Williams struggling to spark any sort of chemistry with his pass-catchers.
But New England’s defense also took advantage of the matchup in front of them with a dominant afternoon.
Even with Williams’ scrambling ability, both he and the Bears have been hindered by porous pass protection — with Williams sacked six times in Chicago’s loss to the Cardinals last week.
Sure enough, the Patriots’ pass rush feasted against the Bears on Sunday, finishing the game with nine sacks.
New England had not surpassed three sacks in a single game entering Sunday’s matchup against Chicago — with Sunday’s nine sacks tied for the second-most in a game in franchise history. Only the Boston Patriots in the 1963 season had more (11).
Jeremiah Pharms put together his best game as a Patriot with three tackles for a loss and a sack, while special-teams ace Brenden Schooler chipped in on defense with a sack and a hurry against Williams.
Deatrich Wise and Anfernee Jennings both had two sacks apiece, while Keion White added a sack, two quarterback hits, and two tackles for loss.
Injuries have hindered New England’s defense all season long, but several players stepped up when needed on Sunday — with rookie Dell Pettus recording a pass breakup against Cole Kmet to go along with fourth-quarter sack in his first career start.
Williams finished Sunday’s game by completing 16-of-30 throws for just 120 yards.
The Bears averaged 2.4 yards per play and went 1-for-14 in third-down situations.
Winning in the trenches
One of the reasons why New England’s defense rebounded on Sunday rested on its improved performance against the run.
Over the past four games, the Patriots have allowed 192, 171, 112 and 167 rushing yards. But on Sunday, Chicago only gained 73 rushing yards. With the Bears unable to get its ground game going, the onus fell on Williams to gain yards through the air, allowing New England’s pass rush to feast.
While New England kept Chicago’s backs like D’Andre Swift in check, the Patriots’ own run game made some strides. After gaining just 82 yards on 37 carries over the past three games, Rhamondre Stevenson finished with 74 rushing yards off of 20 carries.
While New England was still waiting for a full takeover game from their top back, Stevenson did deliver in critical situations — converting on both a 4th-and-1 and 3rd-and-1 in the first half as part of two separate scoring drives.
LIVE UPDATES
3:55: What do you know – another pair of sacks for New England. That’s nine on the afternoon.
3:49: Joey Slye hits another field goal. It’s 19-3 with 2:17 left in play.
3:35: Make it seven sacks for New England’s defense. Marcus Jones then forces a turnover on fourth down with a PBU and it’s a mass exodus at Soldier Field.
3:29: Elijah Hicks nearly picked off Maye in the end zone there. New England dodges a bullet, and Slye adds another field goal.
It’s 16-3 Patriots.
3:25: Maye breaks off for a run. Still wish he’d slide at the end of these scrambles.
3:22: Make it six sacks for New England. Dell Pettus picks up a sack. New England’s defense is dominating.
3:16: Another 3-and-out for New England’s offense. The defense is doing its job, but New England really needs to give itself some breathing room here.
3:08: Now Dell Petus with a clutch pass breakup against Cole Kemet. Plenty of Patriots players stepping up on defense today.
3:05: New England’s offense hits another setback, as Stevenson is turned back on a 3rd-and-2. Patriots punting.
3:00: Brenden Schooler continues to make plays happen. He picks up the sack on Williams.
2:51: Some penalty woes have hindered New England’s offense here. A couple of big gains wiped out by the offensive line.
2:47: Stevenson reels off an 11-yard run. New England’s run game is finding its footing.
2:43: Great game from Jeremiah Pharms so far. He’s up to 2 TFLs and a sack. Bears punting again.
2:25: Great execution from Maye and the Patriots there in crunch time. Maye hits Boutte for 22 yards, and New England spikes it with 1 second left.
Joey Slye converts on the field goal. Great sequence by New England to get 3 points at the end of the half.
13-3 Patriots lead at the half.
2:21: Man, Chicago’s passing game is in rough shape. Bears punting.
2:14: Patriots cash in — with Ja’Lynn Polk reeling in a two-yard touchdown from Maye. Maye went 5-of-5 for 54 yards and the touchdown pass on this drive.
Patriots take a 10-3 lead.
2:13: Patriots pick up yet another first down on a 3rd-down rush by Rhamondre Stevenson. Patriots operating in the red zone.
2:08: Another third-down conversion, this time from Hooper. He’s up to 52 receiving yards.
2:07: Some trickery from AVP — with Douglas gaining seven yards off a screen rush.
2:05: Remarkably, that conversion from Douglas was the first third-down conversion for either team. There’s 6:00 left in the first half.
2:00: Patriots defense has done a good job limiting Caleb Williams, by Cairo Santos connects on a 33-yard field goal.
3-3 game with 7:17 left in the half.
2:00: Brendan Schooler – defensive playmaker? He gets the hurry on Williams.
1:40: It’s been a good start for New England’s defense out of the gate. New England snuffs out a screen there, with Jaylinn Hawkins blowing up the play.
Another 3-and-out for Chicago.
1:34: Another bad decision from Maye, who is picked off by Edwards. Not sure if he was trying to throw it away or not, but a bad throw.
1:29: Deatrich Wise delivers with a sack on third down that takes Chicago out of field goal position.
1:20: Patriots drive stalls, but Joey Slye still converts on a 30-yard field goal.
3-0 Patriots.
1:16: Stevenson converts on a 4th and 1. A much-needed result for the ground game.
1:12: A great throw and catch from Maye and Austin Hooper. A gain of 28.
1:10: A 13-yard punt has New England in favorable field position. Let’s see how Maye and Co. respond.
1:08: Jennings brings down Williams for the sack. Chicago with a 3-and-out of its own.
1:07: DeAndre Carter with a 38-yard punt return for Chicago. Slow start for New England.
1:05: Patriots go 3 and out. Promising start off a 6-yard run from Stevenson but that’s it on that drive.
1:00: Patriots lose the toss. Bears defer, Pats will receive.
12:44: After getting reps at left guard, the Patriots stick Mike Onwenu back over to the right guard.
12:42: Patriots inactives:
12:40: Kick-off is about to get underway. Who you got?
12:20: Warmups are underway:
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com