The New England Patriots squared off with the Chicago Bears in a foggy matchup at Gillette Stadium on Monday night, losing 33-14.
Buy Patriots TicketsThe week leading up to the game was headlined by speculation as to whether quarterback Mac Jones would return from injury and immediately re-insert himself as the team’s starter. However, a bad interception by Jones late in the first quarter thrust rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe into the game.
Zappe, who had been playing very well in Jones’ stead over the past few weeks, immediately led the Patriots on a touchdown drive, capping it off with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers.
Despite the second-quarter heroics from Zappe and the rest of the offense, the Patriots just couldn’t keep the positive momentum going. Chicago scored 23 unanswered points throughout the remainder of the game on a New England defense that just couldn’t stop their offense.
Even the ever-positive Mike Reiss couldn’t find any good things to say about New England’s crushing defeat.
CHI 33, NE 14
🤮 🤢
⬆️ None
⬇️ Everyone
❓ QB question with Mac and Zappe
🚑 Andrews, Dugger
3⃣-4⃣ record … last place in AFC East
✈️ Next: at Jets
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 25, 2022
Here are four takeaways from the game.
1
Who is QB1?
Mac Jones came into the game as the named starter, but questions regarding his maybe-not-completely-healed ankle kept the door open for Bailey Zappe to continue to see playing time. Jones seemed to put injury concerns to rest in the first quarter by rushing for 24 yards, but a bad interception at the beginning of the second quarter prompted New England’s coaching staff to hand the offense over to Zappe for the rest of the contest.
A Gillette Stadium crowd that had been cheering for the rookie quarterback amidst Jones’ struggles was LOUD when Zappe threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers for New England’s first score of the game.
Listen to that crowd. Unreal moment as Zappe comes on in relief of Mac Jones, then fires this touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers right out of the gate.
We might have a quarterback controversy.
pic.twitter.com/Zijw1dKsEl— Brendan Connelly (@BConn63) October 25, 2022
Zappe led New England’s offense to another touchdown drive midway through the second quarter. However, momentum swung back in favor of the Bears, who never seemed to be fazed by the Patriots’ quarterback shift.
Zappe finished the game with 14 completions on 22 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown but also threw two interceptions near the end of the contest. Jones, who never played a snap after his interception, finished with three completions on six targets and the pick.
While Zappe initially gave some momentum to keep the Patriots in the game in the second quarter, he wasn’t able to do much after that point to keep up with Chicago’s offense. With Jones getting one more week to truly heal up his ankle, only time will tell as to who will be New England’s starting quarterback next week against the New York Jets.
2
Offensive line struggles continue
While New England’s offensive line has largely played well this season, they have had a knack for committing pointless and costly penalties. Although right tackle Isaiah Wynn has been the main culprit of such infractions, Monday’s game showed that he was not the only player who was at fault for the penalty calls.
With Wynn inactive for the game, it was left tackle Trent Brown who routinely caught the eye of the referees. Brown committed four penalties throughout the game, consistently negating New England’s offensive advancements.
Make it four penalties for Trent Brown:
Holding (x2)
False start
Tripping— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) October 25, 2022
However, unlike many previous games this season, the Patriots’ offensive line just played poorly. Quarterbacks Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe were getting hounded in the pocket by Bears defenders all night long, and such pressures contributed to one sack, three QB hits, and a whopping seven passes deflected for Chicago’s defensive front.
The Patriots are already in the midst of a controversy between starting Jones or Zappe. Having offensive line troubles in the midst of this drama would only set New England’s offense back more than it is already.
3
Unusually poor defense
Chicago came into the game with one of the worst passing offenses in the NFL. However, if one were to watch Monday night’s game with no other context, they may have thought that the Bears have one of the best offenses in the league.
The usually sound New England defense was unusually poor on Monday night, allowing Bears quarterback Justin Fields to rush for 82 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown and pass for 179 yards on 13 completions, recording a passing touchdown and an interception in the process.
Fields’ 74 rushing yards in the first half were the most by a quarterback against a Bill Belichick-led defense since 2000, according to ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Fields wasn’t the only beneficiary of this poor play either. Running back Khalil Herbert ran for 62 yards on the ground while adding a reception for 25 yards and a touchdown through the air on a screen pass that totally exposed New England’s lack of defense on the perimeter.
Where the Patriots’ defense truly faltered was on third down. The Bears converted 11 of their 18 third-down plays, with six of them being from five or more yards away.
Despite the poor play, a few Patriots defenders were still able to stand out. Outside linebacker Matthew Judon recorded 2.5 sacks and three total quarterback hits, while linebacker Ja’Whaun Bently recorded 10 total tackles.
Aside from Matthew Judon, this Patriots defense looks very, very lost right now.
— Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis) October 25, 2022
Patriots teams are always built on stout defense. If this team is to get past the regular season, that defense is going to have to play better than the way they did during the game.
4
Rhamondre Stevenson is still RB1, even with the return of Damien Harris
One bright spot from Monday’s game was the play of second-year running back Rhamondre Stevenson. Stevenson had taken over the lead running back duties from Damien Harris, who had been out with a hamstring injury, over the past few games, and performed well in the role.
Harris was active for Monday night’s game, and many assumed that he would at least return to splitting carries with Stevenson. However, even with Harris back in the mix, New England’s backfield seems to be Stevenson’s.
Harris only rushed for eight yards on three carries and caught one of his two targets for only two yards. Stevenson, on the other hand, rushed for 39 yards and a touchdown, while also recording 59 yards on eight catches through the air.
While Harris undoubtedly brings a dominant ground running game, Stevenson has proven to be a better all-around back and has fixed his pass-blocking issues from last season well enough to seemingly earn the starting running back job on New England’s offense.
In a time where the Patriots’ offense seems to be in a state of flux, hopefully Stevenson can anchor a facet of the game that New England has grown dominant at in recent years.
