Quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked nine times, and the Chicago Bears offense managed just 142 total yards in a 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Bears (4-5) struggled with protecting Williams behind a makeshift offensive line missing three starters.
Williams, who was sacked six times against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 9, went down for a season-high nine times for 51 yards lost. That included one that took the Bears out of field-goal position in the first quarter.
The Bears were without starting left tackle Braxton Jones and right tackle Darnell Wright, and left guard Teven Jenkins left the game with an ankle injury in the first half. That left the Bears with Larry Borom at left tackle, Doug Kramer at left guard, Ryan Bates at right guard and Matt Pryor at right tackle. The only player in his regular position was center Coleman Shelton.
The Bears offense also extended its streak without a touchdown to eight straight quarters in the loss and were as unproductive as they have been all season.
They totaled just 142 yards and 69 net passing yards as the Patriots (3-7) snapped the Bears’ eight-game winning streak at Soldier Field. The Bears have lost three straight overall.
Williams completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards. The offense, which struggled so mightily that fans booed after various drives, hasn’t gotten in the end zone since the fourth quarter against the Washington Commanders in Week 8.
The Bears defense kept the Patriots and quarterback Drake Maye in check for the most part. The Patriots’ only touchdown was Maye’s 2-yard pass to Ja’Lynn Polk in the second quarter.
The Patriots went into halftime with a 13-3 lead and managed just kicker Joey Slye’s 25-yard and 33-yard field goals in the second half.
Maye completed 15 of 25 passes for 184 yards, the touchdown and one first-half interception to Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards. Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 74 yards.
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Here’s how the game unfolded:
Pregame: Nate Davis ruled out with injury
The Bears added yet another offensive lineman to their list of injured players before Sunday’s game against the Patriots. They declared backup right guard Nate Davis out with a back injury about three hours before game time.
The Bears already will be without both starting offensive tackles — Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright, who are dealing with knee injuries. And they also are missing backup offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie.
Coach Matt Eberflus did not reveal his plan to replace Jones and Wright on Friday, but Larry Borom started in place of Jones in Week 9. The Bears activated guard/center Ryan Bates off injured reserve Saturday, so they could start him at right guard and move right guard Matt Pryor to right tackle. The Bears also have Jake Curhan available to start at right tackle.
But Davis’ absence leaves them with more questions about depth on the line.
Inactives: Kyler Gordon and Montez Sweat return
Bears nickel Kyler Gordon returns to the lineup Sunday against the Patriots after a two-game absence. Gordon missed Weeks 8 and 9 as he recovered from a hamstring injury he suffered in London. But he practiced in full Friday and is good to go.
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As expected, defensive end Montez Sweat also is active after recovering from a shin bruise that kept him out in Week 9. But defensive end Darrell Taylor is out after dealing with a knee injury all week.
The Bears previously declared out both starting offensive tackles — left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) and right tackle Darnell Wright (knee) — along with safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion), offensive tackle Kiran Amedgadjie (calf) and right guard Nate Davis (back).
Linebacker Noah Sewell (knee) is also out for the Bears, and defensive back Ameer Speed is a healthy scratch.
For the Patriots, safety Kyle Dugger, linebacker Christian Ellis, wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, quarterback Joe Milton III, offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson, defensive tackle Eric Johnson and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue are inactive.
Halftime: Bears trail Patriots 13-3
The Bears had just 87 net yards in the first half against the Patriots and went into halftime trailing 13-3.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams completed 6 of 13 passes for 43 yards and took two sacks, and running back D’Andre Swift had 44 rushing yards on 11 carries. The offense was so ineffective that fans booed when the Bears had to punt on their final drive of the half after netting just 6 yards.
The Patriots scored the only touchdown of the half with 1 minute, 46 seconds to play in the second quarter. Quarterback Drake Maye hit Ja’Lynn Polk with a 2-yard pass for a 10-3 lead.
Maye completed 9 of 15 passes for 130 yards, the touchdown and an interception in the half. His 22-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte with 16 seconds to play, followed by a Montez Sweat offsides penalty, helped Patriots kicker Joey Slye get into position for a 37-yard field goal just before the half.
The Bears wasted good field position on their first three drives.
The defense forced the Patriots to go three-and-out on the opening drive, with Jacob Martin coming up with a third-down sack. The Bears’ DeAndre Carter then broke for a 38-yard punt return.
But the Bears went three-and-out on the ensuing drive, with Williams taking a sack on second down.
After the Patriots went ahead 3-0 on Slye’s 30-yard field goal on their next drive, the Bears started at the 40 after Slye’s kickoff didn’t land in the landing zone.
But Williams took a sack for an 8-yard loss on third-and-6 at the 31-yard line, and the Bears had to punt.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards picked off Maye for Edwards’ first interception of the season on the next drive, giving the Bears the ball at their 48. They went three-and-out, with DJ Moore running for a loss of 2 yards on third-and-3.
They finally got on the board with Cairo Santos’ 33-yard field goal with 7:17 to play in the second quarter.
Bears left guard Teven Jenkins left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury, and Doug Kramer entered in his place. That left the Bears without three starters on the offensive line. Jenkins was questionable to return.
Catch up on the rest of our coverage:
5 things to watch — plus our predictions
For the second time in three weeks, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams will face off with a fellow member of his rookie class.
The Patriots selected quarterback Drake Maye at No. 3 in this year’s draft, behind Williams and Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, whom the Bears played in Week 8. Williams has known Maye for a while and was complimentary of the player who has completed 65.6% of his passes for 770 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.
“He’s explosive,” Williams said. “He’s accurate. He’s a tall, strong figure back there in the pocket. He makes plays for his team.”
The Patriots have gone 1-3 in Maye’s four starts, the only win coming when Maye was knocked out of the Week 8 game against the New York Jets with a concussion and Jacoby Brissett replaced him. Read more here.
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‘We’re going to look inward’
Coach Matt Eberflus was asked directly Monday morning about potentially changing who would call the plays for quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense and was firm in rejecting any shake-up suggestions about offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
“The changes we’re going to make is that we’re going to look inward and make sure we do a good job of utilizing our talents and our skill and really just (improving) general, basic execution of our plan,” Eberflus said. “We have to make sure we’re doing that going forward.”
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The Bears have a lot of troubleshooting ahead to revive an offense that has been sloppy and stagnant in the two games since the bye week. After exploding for 10 offensive touchdowns in a span of 18 true possessions during blowout wins over the Panthers and Jaguars, the Bears had just two touchdowns and 24 points in 23 offensive series in losses to the Cardinals and Commanders.
After eight games, the Bears rank 28th in the league in total offense (294.6 yards per game) and — with two Week 1 return touchdowns included — 19th in scoring (21.5 points per game). Read more here.
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Moore and Williams still searching for answers
For the second week in a row, the Bears had a game clip go viral for all the wrong reasons.
In the wake of the Bears’ 29-9 loss to the Cardinals in Week 9, a clip of DJ Moore walking off the field in the middle of a first-quarter play circulated widely online, catching the attention of multiple national analysts on social media. But Moore had a simple explanation for why he stepped out on the play Wednesday as the Bears resumed practice at Halas Hall. He was injured.
“Tweaked the ankle,” Moore said. “I was coming back because I’d seen Caleb (Williams) was scrambling. My ankle went in and out. I couldn’t stop, so my momentum took me out of bounds, and then I just walked off. The noise, I hear it, seen it. Really didn’t care. It is what it is.”
Against the Cardinals, Williams targeted Moore nine times, but Moore had four catches for 33 yards. Some of Williams’ worst displays of inaccuracy came on passes to the seventh-year veteran.
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Injury news
If you made a list before the season of players the Bears could least afford to lose, nose tackle Andrew Billings might have ranked in the top three. He surely would have belonged in the top five.
Perhaps that sounds askew, but the Bears are about to find out what life will be like without Billings, who’s headed for surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle that will knock him out for the remainder of the season.
Billings is the team’s best interior lineman versus the run and proved to have a little more juice as a pass rusher than maybe expected. And the main reason he’s so indispensable is the Bears don’t have a proven option to replace the 6-foot-1, 311-pounder. Read more here.
Trade deadline report
The Bears made waves at the trade deadline the last two years as a buyer. This time they’re selling, sending running back Khalil Herbert to the Bengals.
Herbert was seldom used in the first eight games and hoped to get a chance to play somewhere — and that will happen as general manager Ryan Poles completed a deal Tuesday for the Bengals’ seventh-round draft pick in 2025. Originally a sixth-round pick by the Bears in 2021, Herbert rushed for a career-high 731 yards in 2022 and started nine games last season with three 100-yard games, including two in the final three weeks. Read more here.