So it’s two first round rookie quarterbacks getting set to duel in an intra-conference matchup with the Patriots traveling to Chicago for the second of three road games in a four-week span. The Patriots are limping at 2-6, and the Bears followed three straight wins with losses in each of the last two weeks to sit at 4-4 on the season.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was the 2024 first overall draft pick while New England’s starting quarterback, Drake Maye, was selected third overall. Both have experienced some highs and lows, but Williams has been starting since Week 1 while Maye will make just his fifth start. He is 1-3 so far and he didn’t finish the win over the Jets after leaving with a head injury and watching Jacoby Brissett lead a final-minute, game-winning drive.
Williams is thriving in front of the Soldier Field crowd. The Bears are 4-0 at home and 0-4 on the road. They have averaged almost 30 points per game at home and only 13 per game on the road. So it will be interesting to see if the Patriots defense can put an end to that trend.
The matchup of two top three picks will garner most of the attention this week, and the Patriots and Bears don’t have a ton of history. Everyone of age in both regions sure remembers Jan. 26, 1986, when Chicago mauled the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, 46-10, and scored 46 unanswered points in the process. New England opened the scoring with a Tony Franklin field goal and closed it with a Steve Grogan-to-Irving Fryar touchdown pass, but it was all Bears between those two scores.
One of the more exciting games between the clubs came back in 2002. The Patriots were the defending Super Bowl champions and in the midst of a non-playoff, 9-7 season. Soldier Field was being renovated, forcing the teams the teams to play at the University of Illinois in Champagne.
New England trailed throughout, including by a 27-6 margin with 6:42 left in the third quarter. It was closer at 30-19 following a Bears field goal with 5:22 left in the game.
IN only his second season starting, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady gave a glimpse of what he would do throughout his NFL career. The Patriots needed only 2:36 to find the end zone when running back Kevin Faulk made a terrific one-handed catch for a 36-yard touchdown pass from Brady. The Patriots two-point conversion attempt failed leaving the score at 30-25.
The defense then rose to the occasion in a massive way. After allowing a nine-yard run on first down, Willie McGinest stuffed Bears running back Anthony Thomas for no gain on second-and-one at the Bears 36-yard line. Then, on third-and-one, Tedy Bruschi stopped Thomas behind the line of scrimmage for a one-yard loss, which forced a Chicago punt.
New England took over with 1:50 to go, but four plays into the drive, Brady threw what appeared to be an interception. A booth-initiated review overturned the call, and four plays later, Brady found wideout David Patten in the back of the end zone for a toe-tapping, 20-yard touchdown. The successful two-point conversion staked the Patriots to a 33-30 lead with 21 seconds left. The touchdown grab was also subject to review, but was upheld as New England completed the comeback win.
The overall series dates back to Oct. 21, 1973. Sunday’s game will mark the 16th meeting with New England holding a 10-5 series advantage. Five of those 10 wins fell within the Patriots Dynasty years.
While the two teams hail from different conferences and therefore don’t play frequently, it will certainly be interesting to see the first matchup of two highly drafted rookie quarterbacks.
The series:
- The Patriots lead the all-time series, 10-5
- The Patriots longest winning streak against the Bears is five games (2002-2018)
- The Bears longest winning streak against New England is three games (1982-1986)
- The Patriots are 4-1 at home, 6-3 on the road and 0-1 at a neutral site in the series
- The teams have never played an overtime game
- The series dates to Oct. 21, 1973 (a 13-10 Patriots win in Chicago)
- The Bears largest margin of victory is 36 (46-10 win on Jan. 26, 1986 – Super Bowl XX)
- The Patriots largest margin of victory is 29 (36-7 road win on Dec. 12, 2010)
