Ups & Downs: Everything was a mess for the Patriots in loss to Bears
FOXBORO -- Well that was a mess. New England's 33-14 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football was disappointing and embarrassing, as the Patriots had no answers for a 2-4 team on national television.
This is not the kind of game that the Patriots can lose if they want to wiggle their way into the AFC playoff picture. Now they are back below .500 at 3-4, and there are question marks all over the field.
The quarterback situation is a mess, and that's getting most of the attention. But the defense had an absolutely dreadful game on Monday night, and that is a big concern going forward.
Simply put, Monday night's loss was a stinker. Plug your nose and run away as fast as you can.
But if you can handle the stench for just a little longer, we've got lots of "Downs" to highlight from what could be a devastating loss for the 2022 New England Patriots.
Downs
The mess at quarterback
Mac Jones got the start and played for the first time since Week 3. He didn't look good, completing just three of his six passes for 13 yards and another really bad interception.
Bailey Zappe replaced Jones after three series, and looked great to start, leading the team on two scoring drives. Then he looked like a rookie throughout the second half, throwing a pair of interceptions and putting zero points on the board.
Bill Belichick said that the plan was to play both quarterbacks on Monday night, which was not a very good plan. Belichick said that it was always the plan to pull Jones early, but it looked like a benching when he was taken out after his interception. Belichick said that wasn't the case, which has us all wondering if Jones was even healthy enough to be out there.
If he wasn't going to be able to play a full game, why even send him out there on a wet and soggy night? Why not just keep going with the hot hand with Zappe?
Are you sick of the quarterback controversy talk? Well it isn't going anywhere. At least there are only six days until the next game.
The Defense STUNK
Without Christian Barmore clogging up the middle, Justin Fields and the Bears ran all over the New England defense to the tune of 243, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. The defense struggled against the athletic Fields in particular, with the quarterback gashing them for chunk play after chunk play. Fields ran for 82 yards on his 14 carries.
Third Down Defense
The Bears had no issues staying on the field, converting 11 of their 18 third downs. That's just brutal.
With all of those third downs turning into first downs, the Bears possessed the ball for nearly 15 minutes more than the Patriots. That is also just brutal.
The Pats ran nowhere
The Bears have one of the worst run defenses in the league, and given the conditions and the fact that their quarterback was returning after missing three weeks with an ankle injury, the Patriots probably should have focused more on their ground attack.
But that ground attack went nowhere. Rhamondre Stevenson had 39 yards on 11 carries. Damien Harris picked up just eight yards on three carries.
Until the fourth quarter, Mac Jones was the team's leading rusher with 24 yards. Yeah, the guy coming back from an ankle injury was the team's leading rusher for most of the night.
Trent Brown's laundry
The big guy was hit with three penalties on New England's first two series. Two of those penalties offset Chicago penalties, and his third -- a false start -- turned a third-and-5 into a third-and-10. He was also flagged for a 10-yard tripping in the third quarter.
The Patriots punted away both possessions.
Jake Bailey
The punter had a 36-yard punt after New England's second possession came to an end. He had a 33-yard punt in the third quarter, which Dante Pettis returned 27 yards to the New England 39-yard line.
Bailey averaged just 40 yards on his four punts on Monday night. NOTHING went right for the Patriots on Monday night.
Injuries
They happened too. Kyle Dugger had to leave in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. He was spotted with a limp after the game.
David Andrews was shaken up midway through the fourth quarter when he was hit with an illegal blindside block by Mike Pennel after one of Zappe's interceptions. Pennel was ejected from the game for the hit.
Losing either player for any period of time would be a big hit for the Patriots.
Jets Week
Getting to play the Jets twice a year used to be a good way to either get right or pad the record. But these Jets are 5-2 on the season, and the Patriots have to play them twice in their next three games. We are living in Bizarro World at the moment.
Ups
Zapped
Before he looked like a rookie in the second half, Bailey Zappe once again looked pretty good in the second quarter. There was his 30-yard touchdown to Jakobi Meyers to get the Patriots on the board, and his 43-yard connection with DeVante Parker (though most of that credit goes to Parker) that set up another touchdown.
Zappe brought the Patriots back into the game and put them ahead, though that was all short-lived. Now he's stuck in QB limbo heading into Week 8.
Matthew Judon... still a beast
Judon was everywhere again on Monday. He had 2.5 sacks to bring his total to 8.5 for this season. He also deflected a pass that was picked off by Myles Bryant.
Judon applied constant pressure on Fields, and though he ran by the quarterback on a few occasions, he was the only guy on defense doing much of anything.
