FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 24: Khalil Herbert #24 of the Chicago Bears scores a 25-yard receiving touchdown during the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

The Patriots took one giant punch in the mouth from the Chicago Bears on Monday night, and no one took it harder than Bill Belichick and his coaching staff.

Wins over the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns, and the rise of “Zappe Fever,” may have created a false sense of confidence throughout New England. But there’s no doubt that the coaches were still prepared for those games and made their opponents look like the inferior teams that they are.

Belichick and his assistants can’t afford to be unprepared. They don’t have enough high-end talent to overcome bad coaching, and in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a bizarre situation unfolding at quarterback. So when the sub-.500 Chicago Bears, with a struggling second-year signal-caller and first-year head coach, roll into Foxboro and dismantle you from top to bottom, that’s a big, fat, loud alarm for Belichick, and especially for his defense.

The truth, though, is that the Patriots’ defensive weaknesses were there all along. It was just a matter of time before a smart coach and quarterback exploited them the right way. But it’s safe to say that the region is stunned it was the Bears to do it, on the road, in prime time.

“We didn’t have a lot of answers for anything,” Belichick said during a Zoom conference Tuesday morning. “We didn’t play well in the kicking game. We didn’t play well on defense or offense. Obviously, we didn’t coach well. Pick whatever you want. You can say the same about every phase of our game.”

What weakness? Mainly, their lack of sideline-to-sideline speed and inconsistency keeping contain around the edges. The Bears called nine run plays around the left or right ends, and eight passes to the short-left or short-right areas of the field. They averaged 10.1 yards per play on those calls.

Runs to the left and right ends combined for 9.4 yards per carry, a rate that would easily rank the Pats defense near the bottom of the league. The Bears also averaged 10.9 yards per catch on short throws.

Arguably the most glaring and back-breaking example of their struggles came on Khalil Herbert’s late-second-quarter touchdown, which happened right after the Patriots had taken a 14-10 lead. New England blitzed with six rushers, and it appears the Bears were ready for it, because quarterback Justin Fields quickly fired the screen to Herbert. Kyle Dugger, Jalen Mills, and Devin McCourty are all in Herbert’s area code but get sealed off. Herbert has a lane you could’ve driven a truck through to the end zone.

Momentum killed. Defense exposed, again.

McCourty acknowledged that the Bears seemed to draw inspiration from Lamar Jackson’s dynamic running against the Patriots in Week 3. The Lions and Browns had success on similar plays, too. They just weren’t smart enough to continue attacking that way, or to build their gameplan around it. The Bears did build their plan around it, and came out of the game with 243 yards on the ground and a 33-14 blowout that could’ve been even more lopsided.

Now, after it felt like the defense was starting to find itself, the Patriots are left with major questions. Can anyone outside of Matthew Judon make a consistent impact? Do they have any linebackers capable of playing sideline to sideline and limiting those plays around the edge and in open space? What in the absolute Christ is going to happen if they can’t fix these problems by the time they have to play the Bills?

They can start by simply preparing better. Don’t get caught with your pants down, like they did with the Bears’ designed runs for Fields. But even if they’re ready to defend “every blade of grass,” as the saying goes, do they have the personnel to execute soundly and prevent points?

That’s been a question for Belichick’s defense against mobile quarterbacks and horizontal offenses for years now. It appears the question is still firmly on the table.

The trade deadline is coming up, so it’ll be interesting to see if Belichick decides he needs to add more speed to the front-seven. Jamie Collins, who started Monday night in his first game since re-signing with the Patriots for another stint, doesn’t seem to be the answer there. He indicated that the Patriots didn’t have an answer for the Bears even after they could see what was happening and tried to adjust.

“We knew what [Fields’] ability was,” Belichick said after the game. “Once a couple of those started hitting early in the game, then we could see that’s the way the game was going to go. So, yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise. Once it declared, then we were definitely playing for it. We didn’t do a great job defending it, but yeah.”

The Patriots’ quarterback mystery – does that word even begin to describe that situation anymore? – will understandably be at the forefront of the discussion around the Patriots heading into Week 8. But the harsh reality is the Pats aren’t in position to score a lot of points right now, regardless, and they’re not going to win many games if the defense gets gutted in grisly fashion like they did Monday night.

The D needs to correct as many problems as they can, and fast, because the Bears just handed the league the latest blueprint.

“I know for me, defensively, as we gave up 33 points,” McCourty said. “I don’t think anybody on defense needs to worry about who the quarterback is going to be at all. We need to worry about what we need to do and figure out how we’re going to get stops and play better. I think that needs to be the key for everybody on defense.”

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.