(670 The Score) It’s Week 7. The Bears are back on national television for a reason that no one can quite totally explain. This week, they’ll be up in New England to play Bill Belichick and the Patriots in front of a Monday Night Football-sized audience. Should be fun! Surely the Manning brothers will have positive things to say about the Bears' offense. Let’s look at a few matchups.
Bears WR Darnell Mooney vs. Patriots CB Jack Jones
Jack Jones is a real player who really plays for the Patriots. Not only that, but he’s been the best cornerback in football, according to Pro Football Focus. So now you can be smug to your friends that you’ve been right all along – Jack Jones, a real player who really plays for the Patriots, really is underrated. (I assume that if you’re reading this in the first place, you and your friends sit around and argue about that sorta thing.) Jones has been targeted 24 times this season and allowed only 12 catches for 173 yards. He also has two interceptions and two pass breakups to his name as well. He hasn’t graded nearly as well against the run, which is obviously good news for the Bears. The bad news for these Bears (!) is that they do, unfortunately, have to throw the football occasionally. One day, they’ll have another talented wide receiver on the other side of Mooney, but that’s not today.
Patriots WR Jakobi Meyers vs. Bears CB Jaylon Johnson
Speaking of other Patriots players who are among the best at their position in football – Monday is going to be fun! – Meyers is having his breakout season. The Patriots signed him as an undrafted free agent (*gigantic eye roll*) in 2019, and three years later, Meyers ranks fourth in Football Outsider’s wide receiver DVOA. He leads the team in receptions (24) by quite a margin and is among the 10 best receivers in catch percentage (77%). The Patriots’ passing offense is nothing special (18th in DVOA), but Meyers is in the middle of earning himself a real good chunk of money. Johnson’s return to action against the Commanders went pretty well, but there’s certainly another level of play he’s capable of reaching. He’s probably going to have a more boring night than, say, Kyler Gordon, but it’s always fun to watch Johnson match up against the league’s top receivers.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus vs. Patriots coach Bill Belichick
There’s something sort of funny about how much flak that Eberflus has been able to dodge simply because his 2-4 football team knows how to make a few halftime adjustments. Eberflus and his coaching staff absolutely deserve credit for realizing when something isn’t working in the moment, but "doing a thing that most good coaches have done for decades" doesn’t really feel like a super high bar to pass? Belichick is the poster boy for halftime adjustments and also the poster boy for beating the brakes off of bad teams at home. The two have a little more familiarity with one another than the usual coaching matchup – Eberflus comes from the Nick Saban tree, which isn’t quite parallel to the Belichick tree but definitely crosses over plenty. What kind of intel will Saban have for Belichick about Eberflus? Who will look grumpier on the sideline by the start of the third quarter? Stay tuned until 10:30 p.m. on a week night to find out!
Cam Ellis is a writer for 670 The Score and Audacy Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KingsleyEllis.
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