Thursday Night Football is underway at Soldier Field, where the Chicago Bears struck first against the New England Patriots with a 43-yard field goal to take an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Both teams entered the night at 4-2, and this one looks every bit like the slugfest it was billed as.
Bears vs Patriots (Credits: NFL)
Defenses Set the Tone Early
The Patriots started on offense, but the drive fizzled fast. An incompletion that sailed high over A.J. Brown‘s head set the tone, and though Drake Maye found his running backs — Rhamondre Stevenson for 19 yards and TreVeyon Henderson on back-to-back plays — a sack on 4th-and-5 ended the drive after a turnover on downs.
The Bears offense took over in good field position, and a 26-yard chunk play to Luther Burden against Marcus Jones got the crowd roaring. Chicago’s drive stalled on 3rd-and-7, but the field goal gave the home team the early edge.
Drake Maye vs. Caleb Williams: Round Two
This is the second primetime meeting between two of the 2024 NFL Draft‘s top quarterbacks. Maye and the Patriots won the first matchup during their rookie campaigns, 19-3. Much has changed since then. Maye finished as the NFL MVP runner-up last season and has thrown 10 touchdown passes during New England’s current three-game winning streak.
Caleb Williams, healthy again, returned from injury last week and showed no rust, throwing for 305 yards as Chicago beat Atlanta 31-23. The Bears have won three of their last four. New England is down several pieces: Alijah Vera-Tucker landed on injured reserve Thursday with a hamstring injury, and Ben Brown, Carlton Davis, Karon Prunty and Channing Canada are out. Chicago is without RB Kyle Monangai and LB Jack Sanborn.
Kickoff was at 8:15 p.m. ET on Prime Video. The short week, the wind at Soldier Field, and two of football’s brightest young quarterbacks — this one has all the ingredients.
Also Read: Caleb Williams Shows No Rust in Return: 305 Yards as Bears Beat Falcons 31-23
Source: ESPN — read the full story there.
