CHICAGO — With little room for error all night, the Patriots lost the turnover battle to the Bears and with it, the game.
In a [battle of quarterbacks](https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/10/22/patriots-bears-preview-how-drake-maye-mike-vrabel-can-pull-an-upset-on-thursday-night/) taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, Bears QB Caleb Williams was just slightly better than Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. And that’s all it took for the Bears to beat the Patriots 30-24.
Maye threw a costly interception — the game’s only turnover — in the red zone midway through the second quarter, while Williams avoided giveaways as the Patriots emerge from Week 7 with a 4-3 record.
Maye finished the game an impressive 24-of-31 for 321 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception while carrying the ball four times for 26 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Williams was 22-of-33 for 308 yards with two touchdowns with four rushing attempts for 19 yards. Both quarterbacks were sacked twice.
The Patriots’ defense gave up points on four straight Bears possessions in the middle portion of the game but made key stops late, giving the Patriots’ opportunities in what was a one-score game.
The offense couldn’t capitalize with consecutive drives ending with punts.
The defense seemed to take the Bears out of field goal range with a 10-yard sack from Christian Barmore on third-and-5 from the Patriots’ 30-yard line, but Bears kicker Cairo Santos knocked through a 58-yard field goal to seal the game.
The Patriots kicked a field goal early in their next drive to give themselves a chance for an onside kick. Punter Mitch Wishnowsky’s onside attempt was recovered by Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze.
The Patriots got past midfield on their first drive but turned the ball over on downs when Maye was sacked on fourth-and-5 from the Bears’ 45-yard line. The Patriots have been aggressive and mostly successful on fourth down this season. This was a major exception.
The Bears got off to a 3-0 lead with a 43-yard field goal from Santos. The Patriots got bailed out by a drop from wide receiver Kalif Raymond, who was wide open. Williams’ pass fell incomplete, forcing the Bears to settle for three points.
The Patriots responded by going three-and-out and punting back to the Bears. The Bears matched, though there were penalties on both sides in the middle of the three-play drive. The Patriots went three-and-out and punted again before the Bears extended their lead to 10-0 on a five-play, 74-yard drive that culminated with a 4-yard touchdown run from D’Andre Swift. Bears wideout Luther Burden III was left wide open for a 58-yard catch-and-run, setting up the score. The Bears got away with an egregious hold after Burden’s catch from wide receiver Rome Odunze on safety Craig Woodson.
The Patriots cut the Bears’ lead to 10-7 on their next drive, with Maye scrambling for a 7-yard touchdown run. It was a nine-play, 74-yard drive with chunk plays to tight ends Hunter Henry and Eli Raridon and running back Rhamondre Stevenson.
The Bears extended their lead to 13-7, but the Patriots’ defense held strong inside the red zone, forcing Chicago to settle for a 31-yard field goal from Santos.
The Patriots were driving and ready to score before Maye was picked off by Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson in the end zone. Maye’s pass to Raridon came out too low and was easily intercepted. Jackson downed the ball for a touchback.
The Bears set up a potential double score with another touchdown drive before the half ended before getting the ball back at the start of the third quarter. The Bears’ 10-play, 80-yard drive ended with a 24-yard touchdown from Burden on a well-blocked screen.
The Bears should have gone into the half with a 20-7 lead, but Maye completed an 18-yard pass to A.J. Brown before calling a timeout. The final play of the half was a short pass to Stevenson, which he took 48 yards for a touchdown. Stevenson showed great vision on the catch-and-run and was helped out with blocks by DeMario Douglas and Kyle Williams.
The Patriots’ defense didn’t come out of the half looking any better. The Bears acted fast, scoring a touchdown on a 10-play, 72-yard drive. Williams extended the Bears’ lead to 27-14 with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland.
Not to be outdone, the Patriots matched with a touchdown from their own young tight end, Raridon, from 30 yards out to cut the Bears’ lead to 27-21.
After the teams traded punts, the Bears got within field goal range, but Santos’ 53-yard attempt hit off the right goalpost.
Maye and the Patriots couldn’t do anything off of the big miss. After a first-down incompletion that seemed to come out of Maye’s hand wrong, the QB was sacked for a 9-yard loss on second down. A 12-yard completion to Stevenson couldn’t get the Patriots out of the third-and-19 hole.
#### BEST
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson ended the half with an incredible 48-yard catch-and-run touchdown. He carried the ball six times for 22 yards while catching five passes for 93 yards and a score.
TE Hunter Henry: It seemed like every time the Patriots needed a play, Maye went to Henry, who finished with seven catches for 71 yards.
TE Eli Raridon: The rookie tight end had an active day with three catches on four targets for 56 yards with a touchdown. He immediately followed up a costly false start penalty with a 30-yard touchdown.
#### WORST
OLB Gabe Jacas: The rookie made a bad play worse with a super late hit on Caleb Williams, drawing a roughing the passer penalty on a 22-yard catch from Burden.
Tackling: Cornerbacks Marcus Jones (five) and Charles Woods (three) paced the team in missed tackles. Elijah Ponder, Craig Woodson, Christian Elliss, Cory Durden, Robert Spillane (x2) and Kevin Byard also missed tackles.
O-line penalties: The Patriots’ offensive line was charged with four penalties. Walter Rouse and Morgan Moses were flagged for holding. Will Campbell and Matt Pryor were penalized for false starts.
#### WHAT WE LEARNED
• The Patriots opened in 11 personnel on offense with RB Rhamondre Stevenson, WR A.J. Brown, WR DeMario Douglas, WR Kyle Williams and TE Hunter Henry on the field.
• The Patriots opened in nickel with DT Milton Williams, DT Cory Durden, OLB Dre’Mont Jones, OLB Elijah Ponder, LB Robert Spillane, LB Christian Elliss, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Charles Woods, CB Marcus Jones, S Craig Woodson and S Kevin Byard on the field.
• Byard left the game with an injury during the second quarter and was replaced at safety by Mike Brown. Byard returned the next drive.
• Running back TreVeyon Henderson played sparingly and continues to struggle with his vision. More often than necessary, he seems to run head-on into defenders. Stevenson dominated snaps from Patriots running backs, though Corey Kiner did get four carries for 13 yards.
• The Patriots used Brenden Schooler on defense as a spy on one defensive snap. That’s the first time we’ve seen that outside of garbage time this season.