The Patriots will travel to Chicago for their Week 10 game.
The New England Patriots will stay on the road in Week 10. Traveling to Illinois, they will take on the Chicago Bears in a game led by one big storyline: the matchup between first-round rookie quarterbacks Drake Maye and Caleb Williams.
Obviously, though, the battle between the two clubs is much more complex than a matchup between the Patriots’ and Bears’ rookie passers. So with that in mind, let’s take a closer look at New England’s upcoming opponent.
Bears key stats
Playing in arguably the most competitive division in football at the moment, the pendulum has swung steadily for Chicago this season. The team has had stretches of brilliance interspersed with underwhelming play particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
A look at the key stats reflects this:
Record: 4-4 (4th NFC North)
Offense: 21.5 points/game (19th), 294.6 yards/game (28th), -0.048 EPA/play (22nd)
Defense: 18.5 points/game (t-5th), 322.9 yards/game (12th), -0.103 EPA/play (4th)
Scoring differential: +24 (12th)
Turnover differential: +7 (5th)
As can be seen, the Bears have performed particularly well on the defensive side of the ball. A top-five defense in the NFL this season in several categories, the unit has performed particularly well versus the pass and when it comes to generating turnovers.
This has been a key reason why Chicago finds itself at .500 at the moment. Even with the offense not always up to the task — a result of more than just having a rookie quarterback in the lineup — the team has been competitive in most of its games.
Bears 2024 season
As noted above, the Bears are entering Week 10 with four wins and four losses under their belt. That said, they have shown some signs of weakness recently as a look at their season so far shows:
Week 1: 23-17 win vs. Tennessee Titans
Week 2: 19-13 loss at Houston Texans
Week 3: 21-16 loss at Indianapolis Colts
Week 4: 24-18 win vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 5: 36-10 win vs. Carolina Panthers
Week 6: 35-16 win vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 7: Bye
Week 8: 18-15 loss at Washington Commanders
Week 9: 29-9 loss at Arizona Cardinals
The Bears were in a pretty good position heading into their Week 7 bye. While they started the year with a 1-2 record, they rebounded by winning three straight. However, after losing their Week 8 game in heartbreaking fashion — on a last-second Hail Mary touchdown — they also were blown out by the Cardinals last Sunday in arguably their worst performance to date.
Bears active roster
(Note: Roster up-to-date as of Nov. 6, 7 a.m. ET; *indicates projected starter)
Quarterback (2): Caleb Williams* (18), Tyson Bagent (17)
Running back (3): D’Andre Swift* (4), Roschon Johnson (23), Travis Homer (20)
Wide receiver (5): D.J. Moore* (2), Rome Odunze* (15), Keenan Allen* (13), DeAndre Carter (11 | PR | KR), Tyler Scott (10)
Tight end (3): Cole Kmet* (85), Gerald Everett (14), Marcedes Lewis (84)
Offensive tackle (4): Braxton Jones* (70), Darnell Wright* (58), Larry Borom (75), Kiran Amegadjie (72)
Interior offensive line (5): Teven Jenkins* (76), Coleman Shelton* (65), Matt Pryor* (79), Doug Kramer Jr. (68), Nate Davis (64)
Interior defensive line (5): Gervon Dexter Sr.* (99), Andrew Billings* (97), Chris Williams (91), Byron Cowart (93), Zacch Pickens (96)
Defensive edge (7): Montez Sweat* (98), DeMarcus Walker* (95), Darrell Taylor (52), Austin Booker (94), Jacob Martin (55), Daniel Hardy (92), Dominique Robinson (90)
Linebacker (5): Tremaine Edmunds* (49), T.J. Edwards* (53), Jack Sanborn (57), Amen Ogbongbemiga (45), Noah Sewell (44)
Cornerback (6): Jaylon Johnson* (1), Jaylon Jones* (21), Kyler Gordon* (6), Tyrique Stevenson (29), Terell Smith (32), Josh Blackwell (39)
Safety (4): Kevin Byard III* (31), Jaquan Brisker* (9), Elijah Hicks (22), Jonathan Owens (36)
Specialists (3): Cairo Santos (8 | K ), Tory Taylor (19 | P | H), Scott Daly (46 | LS)
During the offseason, Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf spoke about his team having the infrastructure in place to help a rookie quarterback. And while Drake Maye has performed well in his four starts, his support system pales in comparison to what the Bears built for Caleb Williams — especially on offense.
The first overall selection in this year’s draft, who only ended up in Chicago as a result of a 2023 trade with the Carolina Panthers, Williams joined a team with some enticing talent across the board.
At wide receiver, for example, he is throwing to veteran pass catchers D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen on top of fellow first-round rookie Rome Odunze. With 37 catches for 374 yards and three touchdowns, Moore is the leader of the bunch.
Williams has also regularly targeted the starters at running back and tight end, though: D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet are versatile and productive players, even though their usage has not always been up to Bears fans’ liking. Still, when they get the ball, both have put up solid numbers. That is true for lead running back Swift in particular after he touched the ball 150 times for 729 yards and four touchdowns over the Bears’ first eight games of the season.
He and the rest of the offense are operating behind a solid and relatively stable offensive line — another stark contrast to Drake Maye’s situation in New England.
As for the Bears defense, it has playmakers at all three levels worth mentioning. Up front, Gervon Dexter and Montez Sweat form a formidable duo: the pair has registered a combined 45 quarterback pressures this season. Add the likes of DeMarcus Walker and Darrell Taylor, and you get a stout D-line capable of creating significant stress in the trenches.
At the second level, the Bears are relying on 2023 free agency investments Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards. While not as disruptive as the men up front, they too offer experience and playmaking potential — something that can also be found in the secondary.
No. 1 cornerback Jaylon Johnson is one of the best players his position currently has to offer in the NFL, while Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker are as good a safety tandem as any in the league so far this season. There has been some controversy surrounding former starting outside cornerback Tyrique Stevenson after his role in the aforementioned Hail Mary debacle in Washington, but as a whole the group has played good football.
The same is also true for Chicago’s special teams. DeAndre Carter, a former member of the Patriots, has been among the most effective kickoff returners in the NFL and is averaging 31.7 yards per runback.
Bears reserves
Practice squad (16): LB Micah Baskerville, OT Theo Benedet, WR Collin Johnson, OL Chris Glaser, LB Carl Jones, WR Samori Toure, WR John Jackson, DE Jamree Kromah, OT Austen Pleasants, QB Austin Reed, DT Dashaun Mallory, S Tarvarius Moore, TE Joel Wilson, CB Ameer Speed, OT Jake Curhan, CB Reddy Steward
Injured reserve (7): OL Ryan Bates (IR-return), TE Stephen Carlson, S Douglas Coleman III, OL Bill Murray, LS Patrick Scales, WR Nsimba Webster, RB Ian Wheeler
Practice squad injured reserve (1): TE Tommy Sweeney
Patriots fans may recognized three names among the Bears’ reserves. Practice squad members Jamree Kromah and Ameer Speed both previously spent time in New England, as did currently-injured offensive lineman Bill Murray.
Bears coaching staff
Head coach: Matt Eberflus
Coordinators: Shane Waldron (OC), Eric Washington (DC), Richard Hightower (ST)
Despite the Bears sitting at 4-4 with a rookie quarterback starting all eight games, their coaching staff has come under some scrutiny. Most of it has been directed toward head coach Matt Eberflus, who amassed a 14-28 record in his two-and-a-half seasons in Chicago so far, as well as first-year offensive coordinator (and former Patriots assistant) Shane Waldron.
It appears that both might be coaching for their jobs over the comings weeks. The same might be true for Eric Washington or Richard Hightower simply due to association, but their units have fared well so far this season.