CHICAGO — The Patriots were dominant in the trenches en route to an upset victory at Soldier Field.
New England sacked No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams nine times in a 19-3 win, and the Patriots were able to get their running game back into gear on the offensive side of the ball. Here are seven takeaways from a memorable afternoon in the (aptly nicknamed) Windy City:
1. Defense is smothering
This was New England’s most dominant defensive performance of the season.
Williams and company only picked up 142 yards of total offense while going 1-for-14 on third down. The Bears wound up with eight punts, turned the ball over on downs twice, and finished with a lone field goal. Seven different Patriots defenders registered sacks, including special teams ace Brenden Schooler, who saw some action on defense and made the most of his time in a unique role spying Williams.
Ultimately, the defense just dismantled Chicago.
“It starts up front. It starts up front,” Jerod Mayo reiterated. “I think that’s what we have to do. We have to go out there and reestablish the line of scrimmage and we were able to do that in all three-and-outs.”
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2. Offense gets it done
While 19 points isn’t going to jump off the page, this was one of the best showings of the season for the Patriots offense. New England picked up 328 yards in total offense — highest mark of the year — and were efficient in both the running and passing games. Drake Maye led five scoring drives, and was aided by Joey Slye, who was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals.
“Anytime you’re able to run the football on first down, I think that was the big thing today,” said Maye (15-of-25, 184 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception). “Credit to those guys up front. Our guys, they played their butts off, in run blocking and pass pro. I think being able to run the football, seeing some first downs and some big yardage on first downs kind of helped us throughout the way… At the end of the day, that defense won us the football game, and we did just enough.”
All told, the Patriots ran for 144 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry.
3. Maye’s speech resonates
After a subpar Wednesday practice, Maye asked Alex Van Pelt’s permission to address the entire offense.
The rookie quarterback’s message was simple: Everybody needed to be better, including himself, because practice mistakes were bleeding into game day. Michael Ownenu, who has been in New England longer than anybody on offense, said the rookie’s speech resonated.
“It’s really great for Drake. He’s beyond his years being a rookie. It feels like he has a lot of experience and like he’s — I don’t want to say like he’s been there before, but he knows how to control the environment and just everything well,” Onwenu said. “When you aren’t winning games, you’ve gotta look at yourself and see what you’re doing wrong and see what you can improve on. I think it just showed up. We had a good week of practice (after that) and it transitioned to the game.
“We all see what he’s doing — the work he puts in — so we all want to be better for him.”
4. KB benched
A week after being New England’s most productive wide receiver in Tennessee, Kendrick Bourne found himself glued to the bench at Solider Field.
The Patriots had six active wideouts on Sunday afternoon, but Bourne was the only one that didn’t play a single snap against the Bears. According to the Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan, Bourne was told the team would be more focused on getting younger players reps in Chicago.
“There was a lot that went into that,” Mayo said. “We thought that that was the best thing to do for us to give us the best chance to win. All those guys bring a certain skill set to the game. We just didn’t know who was going to play more. It just played out that way. But I will say this: Even though Bourne didn’t play today, he was the first one smiling when I walked in the locker room, and I’ve always appreciated that, just his energy and excitement.”
The play-the-kids explanation is a bit perplexing though, given fellow veteran K.J. Osborn was still getting reps. Osborn is on a one-year deal, so he’s only under contract for a few more months, while Bourne is in the first season of a three-year, $19.5 million deal.
5. Great end of half
After struggling to close halves, the Patriots flipped the script in Chicago, as Maye and company stole three points at the end of the second quarter. Getting the ball back at their own 40-yard line with 35 seconds remaining, the Patriots traveled 41 yards for a Slye field goal as time expired. The key play was Maye hitting Kayshon Boutte for 23 yards, then getting the ball spiked with 0:01 remaining on the clock. It was terrific execution.
6. Marcus Jones keeps getting it done
For the third straight game, Marcus Jones ripped off an explosive punt return of more than 20 yards. Jones finished with three returns for 45 yards, and his 24-yarder in the second quarter set up a short field for New England’s brisk field goal drive that ended the half.
7. Good day for Pettus
The Patriots were without both of their safeties again, as Kyle Dugger is still nursing an ankle injury and Jabrill Peppers remains on the Commissioner’s Exempt List. The backups didn’t miss a beat though. Jaylinn Hawkins and Dell Pettus played well, and the undrafted free agent in particular was everywhere. Pettus finished with a sack, tackle for loss, and pass breakup. He’s getting better as the season wears on, which is a really encouraging sign.
