Drake Maye knew the score.
The Patriots quarterback knew the biggest reason for the team’s 19-3 win over Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears.
It was the Patriots defense, which held the Bears run game under 100 yards, and sacked Williams nine times in the game.
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When Maye stepped to the podium to address the media after the win, Maye started clapping his hands.
“Phones down. Notepads down. Let’s clap it up for the defense,” Maye said, speaking to the media assembled. “Clap it up. There you go. Appreciate you.”
Maye appreciated the effort of his much-maligned defense, which hadn’t kept a team under 100 yards rushing since Week 2, and, hadn’t done the best job generating a pass rush.
“It was a good feeling sitting over there as the offense, as the quarterback, that type of defensive performance … it’s a credit to them. It’s a credit to practice this week,” he said. “Man, it’s a good taste of what it looked like for me in training camp.
“They get after it, they after you, mixed up coverage, mixed up blitz packages. It was pretty cool to watch. It was good to be on the other side of the ball.”
The defense, much maligned heading into the game, made William’s life miserable. The Bears were 1-for-14 on third down. The three points was the fewest allowed by the defense all year.
Anfernee Jennings and Deatrich Wise led the sack parade with two each. Jahlani Tavai, Jeremiah Pharms, Keion White, Dell Pettus and Brendan Schooler also took Williams down.
After the game, White talked about the team’s effort stopping the run.
“They were trying to be aggressive early,” White said of the Bears. “The key was the edge. I feel like our edge played better. There was nothing outside, they were trying to bounce it (outside). Our corners stepped up big, Marcus (Jones), Zo (Christian Gonzalez).
“Even on the back end, I feel like we had all of those sacks because our DBs were playing a complete game and locking those guys up. And us, forcing Caleb into being a pocket passer. So I feel like when you keep him in the pocket and don’t let him scramble so much, you limit some of his explosive plays.”
And for that, Maye led the cheers for his defense. Their efforts made his life easier, too.
