Thursday Night Recap: Bears Beat Patriots As Caleb Williams Goes Back-To-Back 300-YARD GAMES
Parrots Vs Bears — Thursday Night Recap
Drake Maye often looks like the only elite quarterback who can't recognize a blitz. Despite good numbers against extra rushers on film, he never adjusts his protection and often has to out-talent defenders.
On the Patriots' opening drive of their Thursday Night Matchup With The Bear, the offense stays on the field for fourth down. The Bears send a corner blitz; Maye recognizes late and rushes up the gut and gets sacked. Later in the second quarter, the Bears send the same blitz. Maye recognizes late and beats the defender with his legs to set up a new set of downs. If He. Catches these blitzes early, he opens up opportunities for the Patriots To Win Big Downfield. Instead, one play fails; the next play, another set Of Downs. Missed opportunities Characterized The Patriots' offense in This Loss To The Bears.
Maye threw a terrible red-zone pick; just two plays later, he locked in on a matchup he wanted with his tight end. Maye's one turnover of the game proved costly on a night when he played mostly efficient football: 24 of 31 passes for 321 yards, +0.26 EPA per pass, and two touchdowns.
The Patriots offense lacks an explosive element. The Patriots have lost 43.8 expected points off of Maye's turnovers this season, and even when he's efficient, New England doesn't play a style that makes way for high-scoring affairs. The offensive line, missing two starters, struggled with penalties.
The Bears and Caleb Williams took the added possession and crafted the most impressive of their three touchdown drives — a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown. The Patriots defense looked poised to force a red zone field goal after a second-and-ten sack by Marcus Jones forced a 3rd-and-17 at the 24.
The Bears ran a receiver screen for Luther Burden. With multiple Patriots in the area, no one could bring Burden down, and Chicago went to the locker room with a 20-7 lead. Burden led the Bears with 130 yards on four catches for 32.5 yards per catch and a touchdown, including 24 yards on the screen.
Caleb Williams: 22/33, 308 yards and two touchdowns; 230 yards on explosive plays, mostly yards after the catch (52.9%). Williams made solid decisions, getting the ball to his playmakers, throwing it away when needed. On the Bears' second scoring drive — five plays, 74 yards — he threw away his first attempt, then connected on his next two for 69 receiving yards to set up D'Andre Swift's four-yard touchdown. Swift rushed for 78 yards on 22 carries and kept time of possession in Chicago's favor.
The Patriots offense spread the love: four receivers registered 40 yards or better, led by Rhamondre Stevenson with 93 yards and 67 yards after the catch. AJ Brown continues to work his way into the offense. Maye now has 10 passing touchdowns and 1 interception over his last three starts.
What didn't work: The Patriots' run game didn't show up. Maye led the team in rushing with 26 yards. New England needed 17 passing first downs on 36 dropbacks. They finished with a 27.3% success rate (10th percentile) and -0.59 EPA per play on 3rd and 4th down. The Bears got pressure on Maye 16 times per PFF, 15 (42.9%) per Next Gen Stats, but Maye carved them up 11/12 for 151 yards and a touchdown against pressure. Slow, got two sacks, but will need more than a corner blitz to slow stronger quarterbacks.
Verdict: In a high-stakes game, the Patriots committed more mistakes, and the Bears' offense cleared the curbs and potholes.
