8 takeaways as Patriots' young players step up in win over Bears

What to take away from the New England Patriots’ win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Sunday’s game between the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears featured two teams trying to build towards a long-term picture, after drafting quarterbacks in the top three of the 2024 NFL Draft. While the Bears came in having had more success in the 2024 season, it was the Patriots who looked to be the more on track of the two teams, in their 19-3 win. 

That was true in two directions. The Patriots look like they made some strides in this game – especially schematically. At the same time Chicago had its own struggles that the Pats took advantage of but didn’t necessarily cause on their own. 

Still, it was a dominant performance. New England out-gained Chicago 328 to 142 in total yards, while holding the Bears to just 1-of-14 on third downs. 

Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

The defense was able to do that despite being put in bad spots early in the game. In the first half, the Bears’ average starting field position was at their own 42 yard line, with their worst spot coming at the 30. Despite that, they walked away from all five drives with just a field goal to show for it. 

Coming into this game, a number of the Patriots’ and Bears’ weaknesses lined up (ex. the Patriots’ rushing offense, the Bears’ run defense). New England ended up winning most of those ‘weakness-on-weakness’ matchups within the game. While those units may still need to improve more moving forwards, this could certainly be a sort of ‘get-right game’ for the Patriots in certain areas. 

Nowhere saw the impact of that more than at the line of scrimmage. Let’s start there as we get to the takeaways from this game…

• Defensive front steps up

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 10: Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears is sacked by Jahlani Tavai #48 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarterat Soldier Field on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

  The Patriots’ defensive front – both the defensive line and linebackers – had been a non-factor over the past few games. Whether it was defending the run or putting pressure on the passer, the team struggled to get any push up front.

  When it came to getting after the quarterback, PFF’s initial grading had the Patriots’ down for 22 pressure. That’s a season high, and only their second time crossing the 20-pressure number in a game this season (the other was Week 2 against Seattle). That resulted in nine sacks, their most in a game since 2022 (before that, they hadn’t had nine in a game since 2001).

  It felt like a breakthrough game for Keion White. White’s sack production had dropped off since the start of the year, but he was still generating pressure. He tied for the team lead with six pressures in this game, and his first sack since Week 2.

  The Patriots also had two players record multiple sacks. One was Jahlani Tavai, who also led the team with nine tackles. Tavai continues to trend the right way after a rough month of October. The other was Anfernee Jennings, who has mainly contributed as a run-stopper for the Patriots this year but had more of a three-down impact in this game.

  Speaking of the run defense, the Patriots improved there too. After allowing 4.8 yards per carry over the past month – a bottom-10 number in the league – the Patriots held the Bears to just 3.7 yards per carry – a number that drops down to. That number drops down to 3.2 yards per carry when taking out Caleb Williams’ scrambles. Jennings played a big part in that as did Jeremiah Pharms, who also had a sack.

  Granted this all came against a Bears team down multiple starters on the offensive line, including both tackles. The challenge to maintain this level of play will only go up, but the defense made a backup offensive line look like what it was, and ideally laid a foundation to build on looking ahead.

• Depth safeties step up

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 10: Dell Pettus #24 and Jahlani Tavai #48 of the New England Patriots celebrate after a sack against Caleb Williams (not pictured) of the Chicago Bears during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

  It wasn’t just the Patriots’ defensive front that was in the spotlight in this game. The secondary played well, with two players in particular stepping up into bigger roles.

  The first of the two is safety Dell Pettus. Pettus had played a bigger role the previous two weeks with Kyle Dugger out, but his 63 percent usage rate on Sunday was another step up.

  Pettus made an impact in that time, especially late in the game. At one point he ended back-to-back Bears drives late in the second half, with a pass breakup on one followed by his first career sack on the other. He held up well in coverage as well, and was targeted just once in 27 coverage snaps (it was an incomplete pass).

  Once Dugger returns Pettus’ role will likely decrease again. But, he used his opportunity on Sunday to show the team shouldn’t take him off the field entirely.

  The other player that stepped up was Brenden Schooler, who has primarily been a special teamer but got more work on defense starting in training camp this summer. He only played a handful of snaps in this game, which were his first non-Hail Mary situation defensive snaps of the year. Still, he found a way to make an impact.

  When on the field the Patriots had Schooler spying Caleb Williams. Early in the game Schooler was able to pressure Williams on a rollout and force a throwaway on 3rd down. Later in the game, he picked up his first sack.

  Given how the Patriots have struggled to contain mobile quarterbacks at times this year, using Schooler as a spy (Schooler shared after the game the package is called ‘Longhorn’) is a wrinkle the team should continue to build on moving forward (although looking ahead it’s not something that projects as much of a need in the immediate future, with Matthew Stafford and Joe Flacco two of the next three quarterbacks the Patriots are scheduled to face).

• Resetting the offensive line

  

  Nov 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to [ass against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

  O.K., back to the line of scrimmage – this time on offense. Despite hints throughout the week that Mike Onwenu could move to left guard in a new offensive line configuration for this game, the Patriots ultimately went back to the group of (left to right) Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Ben Brown, Onwenu, and Demontrey Jacobs.

  That’s the group that finished out last week’s game, and is the only combination of five to start multiple games for the Patriots this year. As far as offensive line play has gone for the Patriots this year it’s been relatively successful, and those five are starting to build more continuity and chemistry – which would be eliminated with a lineup change.

  Part of the reason a change seemed possible were struggles by Jordan and Brown in recent games. Neither was perfect, but both played much better than they had the previous two weeks.

  The game had its hiccups, but overall the offensive line performance was solid. It was certainly enough to suggest that – assuming everybody came out of the game healthy – the Patriots should continue to stick with this alignment moving forwards.

• Run game bounces back

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 10: Tyrique Stevenson #29 of the Chicago Bears tackles Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

  Another reason the Patriots may have altered their offensive line last week was to improve their run blocking by getting rookie Layden Robinson on the field. Without Robinson, the Patriots had their best rushing performance in over a month on Sunday.

  More importantly, the Patriots ran the ball well without Drake Maye needing to be heavily involved. Maye was the Patriots leading rusher over the last four games (despite missing most of one of them) and had more rushing yards in that span than every other player on the team combined as the running backs collectively averaged right around 2.0 yards per carry.

  On Sunday Rhamondre Stevenson took on a leading role, carrying the ball 20 times for 74 yards. While Stevenson did have room to operate this was his best game since early in the season of picking up ‘hidden yardage’ and creating after contact. He ran aggressively and angry.

  The other spark in the Patriots’ run game came from Antonio Gibson. Despite being one of the team’s first free agency signings, Gibson has had a smaller role and had just 11 touches total over the last three games.

  Late in this one the Patriots got Gibson more involved as sort of a closer. He played a leading role on the first drive of the fourth quarter carrying the ball five times for 26 yards. Ideally that will help get Gibson going, and show the coaching staff he should be more involved moving forward. His performance on that drive also allowed the team to manage Stevenson’s workload after a physical first half.

  Just like we talked about with the defense, the Bears didn’t represent the toughest challenge the Patriots’ run game will face this year. They came into the game a bottom-five run defense in the league. The Rams will offer a tougher challenge next week, so we’ll see if the Patriots can build on what they did in Chicago.

• Not relying on Drake Maye

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 10: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots looks to pass the ball against the Chicago Bears during the second quarter at Soldier Field on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

  Sunday’s game was the first win of Drake Maye’s career that saw him play wire-to-wire (he was technically credited with the win in the Jets game despite leaving after the first quarter). At the same time, it was also one of his quieter games so far.

  Most of Maye’s numbers were lows among his full games this season. He completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts (his previous low for attempts was 33), throwing for 184 yards with a touchdown and a pick. He ran just four times for 24 yards.

  On top of that, Maye’s most notable play in this game was a negative. While he decreased the number of turnovers in this game to just one (PFF’s initial grading had him with two turnover worthy plays, also down from last week’s four), but it came on a play where Maye severely under threw a throwaway right to Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards (Maye said after the game he needs to “throw it away farther”).

  Maye did make some big throws when the Patriots needed him to, highlighted by an early deep ball to tight end Austin Hooper (who did his half by making a great fadeaway catch) and a deep middle throw to Kayshon Boutte to set up the field goal before the half (more on that in a bit).

  He hardly took the game over, but the Patriots’ didn’t need him to. Seeing them win without him having to do that should be an encouraging sign with the idea that Maye will continue to grow and play better. Maye also clearly outperformed fellow rookie Caleb Williams, which was a storyline coming into this game.

• Wide receiver shakeup

  

  Nov 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears cornerback Terell Smith (32) tackles New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) during the second half at Soldier Field. Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

  We already talked about the non-changes on the Patriots’ offensive line. The one place the team did shake things up was at the wide receiver position. Kayson Boutte was the team’s most-involved receiver, playing 62 of 64 offensive snaps per PFF’s initial charting. He caught four passes for 47 yards, and is clearly developing a chemistry with Drake Maye.

  After Boutte is where the depth chart changed. K.J. Osborn, after not playing last week, split the second receiver role with DeMario Douglas. Osborn played 29 snaps to Douglas’ 27, but Douglas was on the field for more pass plays (20 to 17).

  Osborn’s return didn’t see the ball come his way much. He was targeted just once, on an incompletion. Meanwhile Douglas had a strong performance catching 4 passes for a team-high 50 yards.

  Losing snaps in the mix was Kendrick Bourne. After being one of the Patriots’ most-used receivers over the past month, Bourne didn’t play on offense on Sunday. Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald reported during the game that was the plan going in, in order to “prioritize playing time for young players.”

  One younger player did see a slightly bigger role. Rookie Ja’Lynn Polk played 26 snaps including 11 passing plays. He was targeted once, catching a touchdown on the goal line. Not exactly a breakout game, but one that could be a step forward after a rough month. Meanwhile Javon Baker’s role remains limited – he played four offensive snaps all on run plays.

  If anything, Bourne’s reduced role led to more snaps for Osborn. While Osborn is younger than Bourne, he’s 27 years old and on an expiring contract. He doesn’t have the same long-term ceiling as either of the rookies, and as a veteran player Bourne has shown more.

  Given the Patriots were reportedly looking to trade Osborn at the NFL trade deadline last week, that swap in the lineup stands out. Was this about getting Osborn back involved to keep him engaged after not moving him out of a crowded receiver room? Or is he more of a part of the Patriots long-term plans despite his contract situation? We’ll see how things continue to evolve in the weeks ahead.

• End of half execution

  

  CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 10: Head coach Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots looks on before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

  Over the past few games, we’ve been critical of the Patriots’ two-minute drill execution. This week the Patriots’ got a one-minute drill, and things went much better.

  After the Bears botched their two-minute chance, the Patriots got the ball at their own 40 with 35 seconds to go and two timeouts. It took the Patriots just five plays to go 41 yards, setting up Joey Slye for a 37-yard field goal as the clock ran out.

  In moving the ball, the Patriots were precise and mechanical. From executing a 3rd & 1 run just outside of field goal range to give themselves an opportunity for a bigger shot, to hurrying to the line after Drake Maye hit Kayshon Boutte for 23 yards to clock the ball and get the field goal team on. Boutte in particular made a heads-up play, finding the ref as soon as he was touched down to get the ball spotted as quickly as possible.

  The Patriots’ two-minute drill is still a question. But, maybe their one-minute drill execution can help them figure things out.

• Another up-and-down day in the kicking game

  

  Nov 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA;New England Patriots place kicker Joey Slye (13) kicks a field goal against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

  The Patriots’ special teams unit is still looking for a well-rounded game. Again on Sunday they had their high points and low points.

  As for high points, Joey Slye went 4-for-4 on his field goals – the third time in his career he’s done so. Marcus Jones was another bright spot, returning three punts for 45 yards while picking up at least 10 yards on each return.

  However, the punt coverage unit allowed another big return – at a big spot in the game. After going 3-and-out to start, the Patriots allowed a 38-yard return to DeAndre Carter, setting Chicago’s first drive up in plus territory.

  It’s the third time in four weeks the Patriots have allowed a field-flipping punt return. While it didn’t burn them this time, it’s not a sustainable way to play either.