The New England Patriots might not be better than the Chicago Bears, and Drake Maye might not be better than Caleb Williams. But none of that mattered on Sunday, as the Patriots left Chicago with a 19-3 victory that will leave Bears fans calling for Matt Eberflus’ job.
By the end of the game, it looked like the Bears had quit on their head coach.
Patriots Smother Bears in Needed Week 10 Victory
The story of the day was New England’s defense, which terrorized a depleted offensive line while limiting the Bears to 142 net offensive yards and just 11 first downs.
Caleb Williams completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards and zero touchdowns. D’Andre Swift ran 16 times for 59 yards, and Keenan Allen led all Bears pass-catchers with five catches for 44 yards.
On the other side, Drake Maye completed 15 of 25 passes for 184 yards and one touchdown along with one interception. The rookie quarterback added three carries for 25 yards and was sacked once.
Rhamondre Stevenson led all running backs with 20 carries for 74 yards, with Antonio Gibson and JaMycal Hasty adding 26 and 20 yards, respectively. Austin Hooper caught three balls for 64 yards, and DeMario Douglas caught four of five targets for 50 yards.
The game was competitive into the fourth quarter, but the Patriots put the final nail in the coffin with a 10-play, six-minute drive culminating in a field goal that gave New England a 16-3 advantage.
Overall, the Patriots finished with 328 net offensive yards, earned 16 first downs, and went 5-for-14 on third downs. New England won the time-of-possession battle by nearly five minutes.
Rookie to rookie TD 🏈@DrakeMaye2 | @jpolk_22
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/1LlcWz9nvW
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2024
The Patriots improved to 3-7 with the win, while the Bears dropped to 4-5 with the loss. New England will host the Los Angeles Rams next Sunday next Sunday.
Let’s look at three studs and three duds from Sunday’s game at Soldier Field.
Best Players for the Patriots in Win Over Bears
Pass Rush
From a statistical standpoint, the Patriots entered this game with one of the NFL‘s worst pass rushes. New England’s front seven didn’t do nearly enough to affect opposing quarterbacks in the first nine weeks.
But Sunday was a very different story.
The Patriots finished with nine sacks, with even Brenden Schooler and Dell Pettus contributing. Yeah, they were going against a terrible and undermanned offensive line, but they still executed at a high level. Kudos to defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington for coming up with a great game plan.
99 + 41 = the 5th Pats sack today ‼️
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ppqt8toDbk
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 10, 2024
DL Jeremiah Pharms Jr.
This was the best game of Jeremiah Pharms Jr.’s career. He finished with five total tackles, including three for a loss, and one sack. Pharms always has been an intriguing sub-rusher but Sunday’s performance showed how much he’s improved against the run.
Jerod Mayo recently said Christian Barmore is “getting close” to returning. It’ll be interesting to see whether Pharms, Daniel Ekuale, or Jaquelin Roy serves as the top defensive tackle backup once Barmore slides back into the starting role.
Jeremiah Pharms Jr. put the center on his ass and blew up this play pic.twitter.com/iy0KiKBVU8
— Ben Brown 🌻 (@BenBrownPL) November 10, 2024
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson, as he always does, ran hard and picked up yards that weren’t there. That was especially true on his third-down run that set up Ja’Lynn Polk’s touchdown catch in the second quarter.
Stevenson hasn’t posted gaudy stats this season, largely because he’s been running behind a patchwork offensive line. But the fourth-year pro deserves credit for putting his early-season fumbling issues behind him and putting together another solid campaign.
Honorable mentions: Marcus Jones, Austin Hooper, Dell Pettus, Brenden Schooler, JaMycal Hasty, Anfernee Jennings, Christian Gonzalez, Keion White, Kayshon Boutte, DeMario Douglas
Who Struggled for the Patriots in Win Over Bears
G Mike Onwenu
Earlier this week, Mike Onwenu told reporters that he wasn’t happy with his play this season. And the fifth-year pro shouldn’t be, as he didn’t play nearly close to his standard over the first nine games.
Well, Onwenu’s struggles continued in Week 10. He gave up a drive-ending sack on New England’s first drive and committed an illegal-man-downfield penalty in the second half, among other issues. Onwenu hasn’t lived up to the three-year, $57 million extension he signed last offseason.
The defense is SWARMING
📺: #NEvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/xnteE1nWjO
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 10, 2024
WR K.J. Osborn
To be honest, I struggled to come up with three duds. At first blush, nobody appeared to be that bad in this game.
With that in mind, I’ll reach a little bit for K.J. Osborn, who was active over Tyquan Thornton (healthy scratch) and out-snapped Kendrick Bourne, who was benched for the entire game.
MORE: Simulate the Rest of the NFL Season Using PFN’s Playoff Predictor
Osborn saw 18 snaps on passing plays and ran 16 routes (per PFF’s in-game tracking) but was targeted just once and finished with zero catches. He’s a total non-factor in the passing game and could be released before the end of the season.
QB Drake Maye
This might be a controversial pick, but Maye arguably had the worst game of his young career. He wasn’t terrible, but he made some rookie mistakes and didn’t appear to see the field well at times.
Maye threw one interception — and a bad one at that — and could’ve been picked off a few more times. He also threw multiple hospital balls.
Takeaway T.J. 🙌
📺: #NEvsCHI on FOX pic.twitter.com/XsCUVZ5DT1
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 10, 2024
Entering this game, Maye ranked 11th among all QBs with nine turnover-worthy plays, according to Pro Football Focus. His turnover-worthy-play percentage (5.1%) was the highest among all QBs with at least four starts. Those numbers will go up after Sunday’s performance.
Maye’s talent is immense, but there’s undeniable sloppiness in his game.
Honorable mentions: Special teams, Demontrey Jacobs