The New England Patriots had Caleb Williams scrambling and his receivers shut down right from the start.
Drake Maye enjoyed watching his defense dominate the Chicago Bears and their star quarterback. He’s happy to take the win that came with it.
Maye outperformed Williams in a matchup of top rookie quarterbacks, and the Patriots came out on top with a 19-3 victory over the struggling Bears on Sunday.
Maye helped lead five scoring drives, and the Patriots sacked Williams a season-high nine times. This victory gave New England (3-7) a much-needed win after losing seven of their last eight games.
“It’s kind of a good taste of what it looked like for me in training camp,” Maye said. “They get after you.”
The Bears (4-5) had already been struggling, having lost to Washington on a last-second Hail Mary pass two weeks ago and falling flat against Arizona last week. Things got worse for them on Sunday.
Chicago managed only 142 yards of offense and went just 1 for 14 on third downs, facing a team that came into the game with one of the worst records in the NFL. The situation got so bad that fans started chanting “Fire ‘Flus!” in the final minutes, calling for coach Matt Eberflus to be dismissed.
“I do believe in those guys,” Eberflus said. “They have faith in us working together. I believe in our football team. I believe in the leaders of the football team and we’ll just have to get back to work.”
Eberflus has a 14-29 record in his 2 1/2 seasons with the Bears, and it’s clear that changes are needed. The coach mentioned that the Bears are considering taking away play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Williams said he still has confidence in Eberflus and the team isn’t giving up on the season.
“We know how good we are, we know how good we can be,” Williams said. “And right now we’re not executing, we’re not hitting on cylinders, but we have all the confidence in each other, to be honest with you.”
Maye didn’t have an outstanding game himself. The No. 3 overall pick was 15 for 25 with 184 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.
Williams, the No. 1 pick, had another tough game. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner was 16 for 30 with 120 yards, and the Bears saw their eight-game win streak at Soldier Field come to an end.
The Bears’ schedule is about to get tougher, with six of their last eight games against NFC North teams, starting with a visit from Green Bay next week.
“Lose three straight, it definitely snowballs,” said safety Kevin Byard. “It’s not a great feeling. It’s something we didn’t plan to do. It’s not something we expect, but it’s the situation we’re in and we’ve got to find a way out of it.”
Anfernee Jennings and Deatrich Wise each had two sacks for New England, and kicker Joey Slye kicked four field goals.
“Really, it’s a testament to us playing together,” Wise said. “We couldn’t have had any of those plays without our DBs shutting down two really good receivers and tight ends. It was a complete defensive effort and then really, just a big team effort, playing our ball.”
The Patriots led 13-3 at halftime after scoring 10 points in the last 1:46 of the second quarter.
Maye threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to rookie Ja’Lynn Polk, and Slye kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, giving New England a 10-point lead as they went to the locker room.
Bears fans responded with boos after watching their team manage just 87 yards and fail to convert any of their six third-down attempts. Chicago had a few good chances early but couldn’t capitalize.
The Bears went three-and-out on their first drive after DeAndre Carter returned a punt 38 yards to New England’s 47-yard line.
After Slye kicked a 30-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 3-0 lead, the Bears moved the ball to New England’s 31-yard line. But Williams took an 8-yard sack from Wise on third down instead of throwing the ball away, knocking Chicago out of field goal range.
Chicago’s T.J. Edwards then intercepted Maye near midfield, but the Bears went three-and-out again. They managed to tie the game at 3-3 midway through the second quarter, but had to settle for a field goal by Cairo Santos after the drive stalled at the 14-yard line.
