The Chicago Bears (3-4) defeated the New England Patriots (3-4) on Monday Night Football, where all three phases dominated in their 33-14 upset win.
The Bears took a 20-14 lead at halftime and never relinquished it. Chicago held the Patriots scoreless in the second half while the Bears’ offense continued to pile on the points.
It was easily the most impressive game of the season for Matt Eberflus’ squad, who not only defeated New England on the road in prime time, but dominated them.
We’re taking a look at 19 key stats from the Bears’ Week 7 win against the Patriots.
0: Points allowed by the Bears defense in the second half
Chicago’s defense has been among the best in the second half, as evidenced by them holding New England scoreless in the final 30 minutes of the game. Through seven games, the Bears have allowed just two touchdowns in the second half.
1: Interception for rookies Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker
Bears top rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker each recorded their first NFL interceptions — both one-handed — against the Patriots. Brisker’s came early in the second quarter, which halted a New England drive. Gordon’s came late in the fourth quarter, which effectively sealed the game.
1: Number of wins for Bears in Foxborough
The Bears recorded their first-ever win in Foxborough — and it happened to come in dominating fashion. Before Monday night’s win, Chicago was 0-4 at New England.
2: Quarterbacks used by the Patriots
Both Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe saw action against the Bears, and both struggled to keep up with Chicago. While Jones got the start, he was replaced by Zappe after three scoreless drives. Zappe did lead the Patriots to two touchdown drives, but he didn’t do anything else.
2: Number of punts by the Bears
Trenton Gill had a quiet night on the punting front. He punted just twice on the night, an indication of Chicago’s ability to finish drives. They scored three touchdowns and four field goals.
4: Takeaways by Chicago
This Bears defense remains committed to taking the football away, and they had a four-takeaway outing against the Patriots. Jaquan Brisker, Roquan Smith and Kyler Gordon each had an interception while Justin Jones recovered a fumble.
4: Penalties by the Bears
The Bears committed just four penalties, which was their fewest since they committed three in Week 1 against the 49ers. Chicago was able to limit the self-inflicted mistakes that have doomed them in a number of close losses.
4: Fumbles by Justin Fields
If there was one criticism of Justin Fields against the Patriots, it was that he fumbled the ball four times. Luckily, he recovered all four of them and didn’t turn the ball over on the ground.
4: Sacks on Justin Fields
While Justin Fields had his best game as a pro, it wasn’t necessarily because of his offensive line. The offensive line, while solid in run blocking, did struggle protecting Fields. He was sacked four times, and both Braxton Jones and Larry Borom struggled.
11: Designed QB runs for Justin Fields
Before Monday night’s game, there were 20 designed quarterback runs for Fields through six games. Against the Patriots, there were 11 designed runs for Fields, where Luke Getsy orchestrated a game plan that catered to his strengths.
11: Third down conversions for Chicago
The Bears went 11-for-18 on third downs against the Patriots. Chicago converted 11-plus third downs for the first time since Sept. 13, 2015 in a loss to the Packers, according to Kevin Fishbain. The last time they converted 11 or more and won was Nov. 25, 2012.
15: Points scored by Cairo Santos
It’s hard to remember a time when kicking was the Bears’ biggest concern. Cairo Santos has silenced those doubts, and Monday’s game is another example of why. Santos accounted for 15 of Chicago’s 33 points, where he went 4-for-4 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points.
23: Unanswered points scored by the Bears
The Bears jumped out to a 10-0 lead before Bailey Zappe led the Patriots to two second-quarter touchdowns to give them a 14-10 lead. After that, Chicago scored 23 unanswered points to win 33-14.
33: Points scored by Chicago
The Bears scored 33 points against the Patriots, which was their most in two years. They scored 41 points against the Jaguars on Dec. 27, 2020.
37:14: Time of possession for the Bears
Chicago dominated time of possession 37:14 to 22:46, where they were able to out-physical New England.
70: Rushing yards allowed by Chicago
It’s no secret the Bears defense has struggled against the run this season. They were allowing 163 rushing yards per game ahead of Monday’s game. So the fact that they allowed just 70 rushing yards by the Patriots was big progress for this defense.
82: Rushing yards by Justin Fields
For the third straight game, Justin Fields led the Bears in rushing yards. Fields had 82 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown, and his athleticism was a big reason why the offense found success.
243: Rushing yards by the Bears
Chicago’s run game was dominant against New England, where they totaled 243 yards on the ground. Justin Fields, David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert each eclipsed 60 rushing yards in this game. The Bears now lead the NFL in rushing yards per game with 181.
260: Yards by Patriots offense
Any time you can hold an opponent to under 300 yards of offense, that’s impressive. Especially a Patriots offense that had been absolutely rolling over the last two games. The Bears defense completely shut them down in the second half.
