Image courtesy of Scott Anderson
This is a game the Patriots may look back on in January and deeply regret.
Despite being severely banged up with a makeshift O-line, the Pats had a chance to beat Chicago on the road Thursday night, but missed opportunities, another brief lapse in red zone judgement by Drake Maye and poor tackling allowed the Bears to walk away with a 30-24 win.
The Patriots head into a mini-bye – their next game isn’t until November 1 on the road in Miami – at 4-3 overall with the three-game winning streak snapped.
Maye finished 24-31 for 321 yards and two touchdowns with one really bad interception. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 26 yards and a rushing TD, which is another glaring problem for the offense. A.J. Brown was virtually non-existent again with just three catches for 48 yards. Hunter Henry had another strong showing with seven grabs for 71 yards.
“We fought, but I would say we need to turn the ball over and we need to tackle better. Those are fundamental skills,” Mike Vrabel said postgame. “But, I like the way they competed and we certainly gave ourselves a chance. It wasn’t a great one, but it was enough.”
Early on, the Pats’ offense struggled, while the Bears went up 10-0 after one on a Cairo Santos field goal and a De”Andre Swift four-yard TD run.
New England finally got on the board with 11:33 left in the second, Maye had a seven-yard TD run, where he muscled his way in with his back to the goal line, driving a defender just enough where he could stretch the tip of the ball over the goal line.
In what can only be described as an absurd ending to the first half, the Patriots turned what appeared to be a dire situation into a ridiculous momentum shift, setting up what would ultimately be a fantastic game.
Trailing 13-7 in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter, the Patriots gave up a 24-yard touchdown to Luther Burden III (4/130/1) on 3rd-&-17 to fall in a 20-7 hole. After the kickoff, Maye hit Brown for 18 yards to the Chicago 48 and the Pats called timeout. Assuming a Hail Mary was coming, instead, a screen to Rhamondre Stevenson (5 catches, 93 yards) somehow turned into a 48-yard touchdown with zeros on the clock, sending New England to the locker room down by just six.
“Shoulda, woulda, coulda,” Maye said when asked if he feels like New England should have won the game. “I’m proud of the guys’ effort. I think we did some good things and we’ve got a lot of stuff to clean up. We’ve got to get back from rest this weekend and get back after it. We’ve got a division game.
“Give credit to (Chicago) for their efforts. I thought we battled the environment well and I thought we did some good things, but didn’t execute at a high enough level to win.”
The Bears responded to the Stevenson touchdown to end the half with a nine-play, 72-yard, way-too-easy march to start the third quarter that ended with a Colston Loveland 12-yard TD catch to make it 27-14.
In desperate need of a response, Maye delivered, moving the offense 80-yards in nine plays, capping it with a 30-yard touchdown throw to Eli Raridon one play after a Raridon false start, cutting it back to six with 3:46 to go in the quarter. Following a quick three-and-out from the defense, New England started the ensuing drive at its own 26 and eventually faced 4th-&-2 at its own 48 to start the fourth quarter. Matt Pryor false started, immediately forcing a punt.
With the Bears backed up near their own end zone facing 3rd-&-11, Christian Elliss appeared to have Caleb Williams (22-33, 308 yards, 2 TDs) sacked, but he found a way to evade it and hit Odunze for a 21-yard gain. Moments later, the Pats had a chance to get off the field again, but Loveland caught a 4th-&-2 pass down to the New England 34.
The defense did finally force a 53-yard field goal that was doinked off the upright, keeping the deficit at six with 7:57 remaining. Unfortunately, the O-line injuries began catching up, as a second down sack of Maye quickly led to a three-and-out and a punt.
Mitch Wishnowsky did his best to keep the Pats in it, pinning Chicago at its own nine. After marching downfield in 11 plays, chewing up a good amount of clock, Christian Barmore sacked Williams on third down, seemingly taking the Bears out of field goal range.
However, Ben Johnson dropped them on the table, sending Santos out for a career-long 58-yard field goal that he drilled with 1:34 left, icing it at 30-21.
Maye did lead the offense downfield for an Andy Borregales 47-yard field goal, but the Bears recovered the onside kick to close things out.
So now, the Patriots will use this small break to get healthy, hopefully figure some things out offensively and tie up loose ends on defense.
The loss stings and will be on players’ minds for a bit, but there’s a whole lot of football left and the AFC should be wide open.
Still, it’ll be hard to look back later down the line and not view this one as a major missed opportunity, especially if it’s the difference between home playoff games or heading out on the road in January.
“That’s probably what I’ll be thinking about most on the weekend, having two chances with the ball down 27-21,” Maye added.
“It’a stinger for the weekend, for sure.”