With 16 seconds left in the first half and the Patriots already leading by seven, New England had the ball at the Bears’ 47-yard line. On the road in a tricky wind, the Patriots were aggressive. Drake Maye zipped a pretty pass to Kayshon Boutte for 23 yards.
Before Boutte had even been tackled, Maye was racing up the field barking instructions to get teammates in position. He spiked the ball with one second left, killing the clock to set up Joey Slye’s half-ending field goal.
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The sequence turned a one-score lead into a two-score advantage. The terrific throw and smart clock management gave the Patriots a jolt of confidence heading into the locker room and landed another blow to Chicago’s waning swagger.
It was a winning play, a foundation brick in Sunday’s 19-3 victory.
The win was neither pretty nor perfect. But it was a good example why winning is better than tanking for a draft pick this year in New England.
There’s nothing wrong with losing to get a franchise quarterback, whether that’s a strategy or just happens organically. But it looks like the Patriots have their guy in Maye. Now it’s all about building around him. Building a roster, building a culture and building an understanding and feel for how to win.
On Sunday, the Patriots got a lead, protected it and closed it out. That sounds simple, but in winnable games against the Seahawks, the Tua-less Dolphins and the Titans, they failed to do that.
This week Maye asked Alex Van Pelt for a chance to address the offense. As a rookie, taking on additional leadership is significant. To follow that by leading the Patriots to his first victory helps cement his status.
“Just taking that next step is me being the quarterback in the offensive meeting room,” he said. “Just really trying to challenge those guys and challenge myself to take each play and know that when the game comes, this play is called, it matters. There’s so many times throughout the game you see how much that play can impact the turnout of the game, so I was just trying to get through to them and probably fumbled some words trying to do it, but I think those guys respected it.”
He’s got more steps to take. His interception didn’t cost the Patriots on Sunday but it could have been one of those outcome-impacting plays. He needs to turn some of those field goals into touchdowns. But there was continued movement in the right direction.
And progress isn’t something to be taken for granted. Quarterback development is a delicate process. Patriots fans left the game feeling much better about Maye than the Bears are about Caleb Williams, who is going backward.
“Drake continues to make plays. He’s going to make mistakes, but this is part of his growth and development,” Mayo said.
But It’s not just Maye. Boutte, Pop Douglas and Ja’Lynn Polk each took steps. The offensive line was allowed just one sack and the Patriots ran for 144 yards. And the defense looked terrific amassing more sacks (nine) than points allowed. Safely Dell Pettus, who had a sack, a pass defensed and two tackles, has a chance to be the franchise’s latest undrafted success story.
Jerod Mayo is still learning how to turn a game plan into victory. Coordinators Alex Van Pelt and DeMarcus Covington are still figuring out which buttons to press late in games too. No matter how much they prepare and simulate, it’s not real until it’s happening in live conditions. They all need to prove they’re better than they’ve performed and Sunday did that.
The Patriots aren’t making the playoffs, but they have seven games to build momentum and a winning process heading into 2025.
They don’t need to lose to make their roster better. The Patriots are still going to get a top draft pick. More than likely, they’ll still be picking somewhere in the top 10 where either LSU’s Will Campbell or Texas’ Kelvin Banks should still be available to give the Patriots a tent-pole offensive tackle for years to come.
If there’s anything to take from the Bears’ miserable afternoon, it was that offensive line is a higher priority than receiver. Chicago has good receivers — both veterans and potential young stars — but their line was so bad Sunday that it didn’t matter.
The Patriots hurt their draft position on Sunday, but that’s fine. The time for rooting for losses and higher draft picks is done. This was a good win and a good step and potentially a springboard toward all the other steps that the Patriots still need to take.
“It was awesome to have that feeling and seeing guys celebrating,” Brendan Schooler said. “Helping each other and picking each other up on the sideline. It was awesome to be part of. … It’s about remembering this feeling and just keeping it going.”
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
