After almost eking out their most exciting win of the season in Week 9 on the road in Nashville, the Patriots were back on the road in Week 10 for a matchup with the .500 Chicago Bears.
Chicago entered Sunday in search of a get-right game, having lost two in a row to put them at the bottom of the NFC North standings.
The Patriots have been as adept as anyone at providing that service for teams all season long.
But on Sunday, we saw a different Patriots team.
New England beat the Bears, 19-3, moving to 3-7 on the season.
Here are your “Ups & Downs” for Week 10:
Some Ups, Some Downs:
Let’s lead with this section this week, because we know why we’re all here…
- Drake Maye: Some good, some bad. That’s why this section is back for Week 10.
At times, he showed once again why Patriots fans should feel really good about their future under center.
At other times, fans and media alike were asking, “What did you see on that one, kid?”
His first set of flashes started on the first play of his team’s second possession of the game, as Maye found tight end Austin Hooper with a beautiful ball on the right sideline for a gain of 28 yards all the way to the Chicago 38 yard line.
Just like that, a struggling offense was past the 40 and in a position for points in the first quarter.
A few plays later from the Chicago 12, Maye was flushed out of the pocket, and looked like he was going to throw the ball away as he was fading out of bounds. But at the last second, his arm changed course, and tossed the ball to the end zone.
K.J. Osborn was open, and caught the ball right in his bread basket for what would have been an unlikely touchdown had the veteran receiver not stepped out of bounds just moments before making the grab.
Was it a touchdown? No. But it was the second week in a row where Maye made a Mahomes-ian type of play.
When your rookie QB is regularly compared to the likes of Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, it’s nice to see those flashes - even if they don’t result in points.
From the “Ups,” we head to the “Downs” on the next two possessions.
On the third play of his team’s third drive, Maye threw a bad interception off play action to Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards.
The rookie rolled out to his right to moderate pressure, and just didn’t see Edwards in zone coverage as he was targeting Hooper downfield.
Even after watching the replay, you wonder what Maye saw there that led to him making that throw. Will be curious what he says about it during his postgame press conference.
On the third play of his team’s fourth drive, Maye missed receiver DeMario Douglas on 3rd and 7, forcing New England to punt from their own 15 yard line.
Even if Maye hadn’t thrown Douglas wide on that play, he was well short of the sticks and surrounded by a couple Bears defenders.
Bad throw, wrong receiver.
But like any good QB, Maye has a short memory.
On the next set of downs for the New England offense, Maye was surgical, driving his offense 70 yards on his way to a 2-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. Maye executed the play action perfectly, and found his fellow rookie for his positive play in months.
The drive took five and a half minutes, and it gave New England all the momentum on that windy field in Chicago.
After an excellent defensive series for the Patriots’ pass rush to close out the Bears’ first half, New England got the ball back with 35 seconds to go, and a chance to add to their 10-3 lead.
Four plays into the drive, on 1st and 10 from the Bears 47 yard line, Maye delivered a beautiful ball to Kayshon Boutte for a 22 yard gain. With time winding down and no timeouts, Maye and the offense ran up to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball to give kicker Joey Slye enough time to kick a wobbly field goal into the Chicago wind.
Trailing behind both the offense and defense was Bears defensive end Montez Sweat. Maye got the snap off well before Sweat could get onsides, giving New England an extra 5 yards to help Slye deal with the less-than-ideal kicking conditions.
Slye nailed the 37-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give New England a 13-3 lead heading into the half.
You almost want to give Maye an assist on the score sheet for that field goal, because none of it happens without the rookie making that play to Boutte.
The second half saw Maye playing more of a game manager role, as the offense played ball control while the defense dominated Chicago.
There may have been some “Downs,” but this week should be taken as nothing but a positive for Patriots fans with their future franchise quarterback.
Ups:
- Pass Rush: The Patriots can thank their pass rush for keeping Chicago’s offense from getting in a rhythm in the first half.
On the Bears’ first possession of the game, linebacker Anfernee Jennings beat Chicago’s left tackle and sacked Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams on his blind side to set up 3rd and 10. Williams was unable to convert, and the Bears were forced to punt.
On the next possession, Chicago had driven the ball to the New England 31 yard line to set-up a 3rd and 7. Williams went back to pass, and was unable to get comfortable in the pocket as veteran defensive end Deatrich Wise took down the QB for an 8-yard sack. Bears were forced to punt, again keeping Chicago from getting on the scoreboard.
Two possessions later, the Bears were in a 3rd and 11 situation from the Patriots 15 yard line. Chicago was finally moving the ball.
Williams dropped back to pass, and was immediately bothered by Patriots in the backfield. The rookie rolled out to his right to buy some time, but was followed by pass rushers. To avoid a sack and/or a pick, Williams threw the ball downfield at the feet of his receiver. This brought on 4th and 11, forcing Chicago to kick a field goal.
One possession later, Chicago got the ball back with 1:46 to go in the second quarter, clearly looking to answer New England’s touchdown with points of their own before the half.
After only picking up one first down off a Williams scramble-out-of-pressure, the Bears were forced into a punt after New England’s pass rush, once again, exposed a struggling Bears’ offensive line. Williams had no time, and New England got the ball back with 35 seconds to go in the half.
The Patriots offense took full advantage of the bonus possession, nailing a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter to give New England a 13-3 lead heading into the half. Slye doesn’t get the opportunity for that extra three points if not for the play of the pass rush.
On the first possession of the second half, after only allowing one first down, the pass rush found Williams for consecutive sacks from Wise and Jeremiah Pharms, forcing the Bears to punt on 4th and 8 from the 50.
On the second possession of the second half, Chicago was, again, looking to move the ball with their passing game.
After a handful of positive plays in the passing game had the Bears looking like they were going to start the third quarter with some of that Chicago wind in their sails, the Patriots pass rush stifled their offense yet again.
On 2nd and 8, Williams was forced into a bad throw under pressure to Moore that fell incomplete. One play later, special teams ace Brenden Schooler got in the backfield for a rare sack that forced Chicago into another punt.
On the Bears’ fourth possession of the second half, Williams was taken down for yet another sack. This time, it was 3rd and 9 from the Bears 10 yard line. Rookie Dell Pettus came in on a safety blitz, and took Williams down for a loss of 7 to set up another Chicago punt.
All told, New England ended the day with 9 sacks, as well as countless QB pressures to truly dictate the entire pace of this game. A handful of these came in garbage time with Williams just trying to make a play, but that total is impressive nonetheless.
Chicago’s offensive line was in a bad way on Sunday, and New England took full advantage.
- Young Receiving Core: Douglas, Polk and Boutte all made plays today - a welcome sign for a group that has struggled to get going all season long.
Douglas had 4 catches for 50 yards, highlighted by a 17 yard gain on 3rd and 3 during the Patriots’ second quarter touchdown drive. Had it not been for Douglas’ YAC, the crucial drive would have ended with a three-and-out.
Like we said earlier, Polk’s touchdown catch in the second quarter was the first time since early in the season that the rookie receiver got a check mark in the “Ups” column. It’s been an incredibly disappointing season for the Washington product, marred by drops and bonehead penalties. So for Polk to grab a touchdown, albeit on a wide open play action route from two yards out, he’s going to get himself into the “Ups” section for the game.
During the Patriots’ bonus possession with 35 seconds to go in the second quarter, Boutte made the critical catch that set Slye up for 3.
On 1st and 10 from the Bears 47 yard line, Maye delivered a beautiful ball to Boutte for a 22 yard gain. After snapping the ball before Sweat was back onsides, the Patriots were set up for a first down with 1 second to go from the Chicago 19 yard line.
Boutte ended the day with four grabs for 47 yards on 6 targets.
Downs:
- Offensive Line: Let’s be fair - this was far from their worst game.
But in a game that was filled with positives for New England, we have to lowlight someone in the “Downs” section.
On the Patriots’ first possession of the game, center Ben Brown shotgun snapped a ball off his inner thigh, forcing Maye to pick the ball up and make a panic throw to Hunter Henry that fell incomplete. One play later, Maye was sacked by Bears defensive end Jacob Martin after right guard Mike Onwenu got beat up the middle. This all led to a punt to open the ballgame.
On New England’s second possession, when Maye made that incredible throw to the end zone to Osborn that was ultimately called incomplete, he did so while having to escape pressure, floating out of bounds. If Maye actually has real time to work with on that play, maybe this drive ends in 7 instead of 3.
On New England’s first possession of the second half, Onwenu’s name was called again - this time for an ineligible man downfield penalty on a Boutte catch that would have been good for a gain of 15. Two plays later, Demontrey Jacobs was called for a false start, setting the offense up with 2nd and 12.
On that 2nd and 12, Maye took a stick under pressure as he just had to dump the ball off to running back JaMycal Hasty for a short gain of 4 yards. It’s contact you don’t want him taking, and a play that had no chance of being special with Bears defenders in his grill.
Again, far from their worst game. But we couldn’t leave this section empty.
New England will look to win their second game in a row for the first time all season in Week 11, as they host the Los Angeles Rams (4-4).
L.A. plays their Week 10 game on Monday night at home against the Dolphins.