Ups & Downs: The Patriots got aggressive on offense and defense in win over Bears
BOSTON -- The New England Patriots got a much-needed win on Sunday, as the defense brought it against a banged-up Chicago Bears offensive line and Drake Maye did enough to outduel fellow rookie Caleb Williams.
Maye stayed relatively clean throughout the 19-3 victory, while the Patriots absolutely teed off on Williams. The New England defense sacked the top overall pick nine times on Sunday, keeping him uncomfortable throughout the contest.
While the defense led the charge, Maye did enough to get the victory, his first true win as an NFL starter. Maye was credited with the "W" a few weeks ago against the Jets, but he probably feels a lot better about Sunday's win considering he left Week 8 after the first quarter.
The Bears are an absolute mess, having now lost three straight. But the Patriots took advantage of what was in front of them on Sunday, and are now 3-7 on the season. Here's a look at all the Ups and Downs from New England's 19-3 win over the Bears.
UP: Patriots defense sacked Caleb Williams 9 times
"Phones down. Notepads down. Let's clap it up for the defense," Maye said as he took the podium after the game.
Maye knew exactly what was up after the win. This game belonged to the New England defense.
The Bears' offensive line was down both starting tackles, and the Patriots took full advantage, sacking Williams nine times. NINE times. Williams is probably going to have nightmares about the New England defense throughout Sunday night.
The pressure came from everywhere and everyone made the most of their chances on the Patriots' defense. Seven different players had a sack, including Brenden Schooler -- who said it was his first sack EVER at any level. Deatrich Wise had a pair of third-down sacks -- one of which knocked the Bears out of field-goal position early in the game -- and safety Dell Pettus had another as the Patriots brought Williams down four times on third down.
Before their nine-sack outburst on Sunday, the Patriots had just 16 sacks on the season. Williams was under constant pressure and it got to him. He completed just 16 of his 30 passes for 120 yards and no touchdowns.
Overall, it was a pretty dominating performance by the New England defense. The Bears were just 1-for-14 on third down on Sunday and had just 142 yards of total offense.
UP: Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson had a solid game out of the backfield, running hard for 74 yards on his 20 carries. He only averaged 3.7 yards per attempt, but he averaged 4.8 yards on his 11 rushes on first down.
Overall, the Patriots rushed for 144 yards on 35 attempts, good for a 4.1 yards-per-carry average.
UP: Maye-to-Polk Touchdown
With the run game functioning, the Patriots got to call some play-action on Sunday. It paid off, as they scored their only touchdown of the day on a play-action.
On a first-and-goal, Ja'Lynn Polk started the play as a blocker before breaking off and catching a wide open two-yard touchdown pass from Maye. That score gave New England a 10-3 lead in the final minutes of the first half.
Funny what an established run game can do for an offense. The touchdown was Polk's only catch of the day, but head coach Jerod Mayo hopes it gets the struggling rookie going.
"Hopefully this is the start of him being a very good receiver in this league," Mayo said of Polk after Sunday's win.
"It means a lot to get the touchdown but I think it's more important, and feels a lot better, knowing we played as a team and fought through adversity, and had belief in one another to go get a win," Polk said in the New England locker room.
UP: The Patriots offense got aggressive ahead of halftime
The Patriots got the ball back at their own 40 with 35 seconds left in the first half, and they actually did something with it instead of taking a few knees.
After getting to midfield, Maye hit Kayshon Boutte for 23 yards to bring the Pats down to the Chicago 24. The Patriots raced up to the line and Maye spiked the ball -- and did so before Montez Sweat could get back for Chicago, giving the Patriots a free five yards.
Joey Slye booted a 37-yarder to push New England's lead to 13-3 at the half. Getting aggressive before the break paid off for the Patriots. If only they had tried that in a few other games this season...
Down: Drake Maye's interception
It was one of those throws where Maye knew he had made a mistake before it even left his fingertips. The rookie had his hands on his helmet even before T.J. Edwards had come down with the pick.
Maye was on the run and went looking for Austin Hooper, but underthrew his tight end as he threw off his back foot. It's a ball that Maye needs to learn to throw away.
We expect rookie mistakes out of Maye. But this is the second straight week he's thrown an interception of that variety.
The turnover gave the Bears the ball at their own 48, but the Bears are the Bears and went three-and-out with that free possession/great field position.
UP: Drake Maye outplayed Caleb Williams
Maye had a bad turnover, but he outplayed Williams on Sunday. He continued to escape peril and make things happen for the New England offense, and nearly had another Mahomes-like touchdown pass in the first quarter. Maye was flushed out of the pocket at the Chicago 12, and it looked like he was about to throw the ball away.
Instead, fire it to the end zone and put one right in the chest of KJ Osborn for what could have been a touchdown. Unfortunately, Obsorn had stepped out of bounds and wasn't eligible to touch the ball. So no touchdown for Maye or the Patriots.
Maye wasn't perfect, and his interception is the kind of play that would really hurt against a better opponent. The Patriots also only managed six points in the second half.
But Maye played mostly mistake-free football in the second half, and did what he had to in order to get his team a road win. The Patriots are asking Maye to do a lot, and on Sunday, he handled it a lot better than the No. 1 overall pick did for Chicago.
DOWN: Kendrick Bourne benched?
The New England wide receiver room is a soap opera. Osborn being active was a surprise before kickoff, and then shortly after the game starter, Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald reported that veteran Kendrick Bourne had been told Saturday that he may not play at all against the Bears.
We didn't see Bourne on Sunday, after his role had increased over the last four weeks after he returned from a torn ACL
"There was a lot that went into that," Mayo said of the decision to sit Bourne. "We thought it was the best thing to do for us."
Mayo added that he appreciates that Bourne is always the first guy in the locker room with a big smile on his face.
Bourne's absence gave Boutte and DeMario Douglas more opportunities on Sunday, and they each checked in with four catches on the afternoon. But we'll see how the veteran feels about being benched going forward.
