By Tobias Bass, Chad Graff, Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain
In a battle of top 2024 NFL Draft picks, Drake Maye and the New England Patriots knocked off Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears 19-3 at Soldier Field on Sunday.
Maye, the No. 3 pick, completed 15-of-25 passes for 184 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his second win as the Patriots’ starting quarterback. Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, the No. 1 pick, completed 16-of-30 passes for 120 yards and no touchdowns.
Since coach Jerod Mayo called the New England defense “soft” after a Week 7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Patriots’ unit has only given up 14 points per game over its last three games, going 2-1. In that time, the Patriots (3-7) have 11 sacks, nine of which came Sunday against the Bears (4-5).
The Bears, who’ve lost three straight games, have not scored a touchdown in 23 consecutive drives, the longest streak in the NFL. Williams became the second QB in the common draft era (since 1967) to lose two starts against rookie first-round QBs, joining Trevor Lawrence, who lost to Zach Wilson (Jets) and Mac Jones (Patriots) in 2021. Williams and the Bears fell to Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders earlier this season.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus when asked if a change in offensive play caller is an option: “We’re looking at everything.”
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 10, 2024
The Patriots defense had been struggling all season, unable to rush the passer or stop the run. It entered this game ranked 26th in yards allowed per attempt, 22nd in expected points added per rush and 29th in sacks.
Turns out, the Patriots just needed a matchup against the Bears to fix things. It was easily the defense’s best performance of the season. Sure, it’s fair to note that the Bears offense entered this game a total mess, but this should’ve been Chicago’s get-right game.
Instead, the Patriots defense finally looked like the kind of unit the coaching staff expected this season. New England sacked Williams nine times, easily besting its previous season high of three. It held the Bears to 1-of-14 on third downs and limited Chicago to only 2.8 yards per play. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
It was only one game, but Maye outplayed Williams. Of course, the two will be linked throughout their careers after entering the league together and there will be plenty of time to evaluate their careers. But in this one, it was advantage Maye.
The Patriots quarterback was far from perfect and had the kind of rookie mistake on a bad interception that the team expected occasionally from a first-year player. But he also had multiple big-time throws and navigated the pocket better than Williams. — Graff
Maye made room 👏@DrakeMaye2 | #NEvsCHI
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/Ot53CBnoXB
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2024
This Bears loss is an example of an institutional failure from the top on down. It was an absolute worst-case scenario to lose to the Patriots at home. For a franchise that never makes coaching moves in the middle of the season, it’s hard to defend maintaining the status quo now. Things will only get worse with division play getting underway next Sunday.
After London, the Bears were 4-2 entering a stretch of three winnable games. An 0-3 mark would’ve been unheard of, but that’s exactly what’s happened. Coaching, personnel moves and execution by the players are all worthy of scrutiny. — Kevin Fishbain, Bears beat writer
The Bears are beat up with their injuries, but their offense under coordinator Shane Waldron is also broken. The main concern for the Bears front office has to be whether Williams can survive and develop in the current environment. Williams was sacked nine times by a New England defense that had struggled to get to opposing quarterbacks before Sunday. The Patriots had only 16 sacks in their first nine games.
Part of that is on the Bears’ patchwork offensive line. But there’s more to it than that. Williams is holding the ball too long, and the Bears’ offensive strategy isn’t working. Everything is out of sorts: the game planning, the play calling, the receivers, the reads by the quarterback. The Bears haven’t scored a touchdown on 23 consecutive possessions, the longest active streak in the NFL. That’s the result of having a rookie quarterback — but also the massive mess around him. — Adam Jahns, Bears beat writer
(Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
