The Chicago Bears likely remember the last time Drake Maye came to Soldier Field. It was an ugly affair that saw the New England Patriots roll to a 19-3 victory. Maye had a touchdown pass while Caleb Williams was sacked 9 times. It certainly increased the volume from people claiming that Maye was the superior quarterback. That argument gained even more traction when he led the Patriots to the Super Bowl last season. Recently, Maye has shaken off a rough start to the season, throwing 10 touchdowns in his last three games.
This presents a big-time challenge for the Bears’ defense. Every time they’ve run into a good quarterback this season, it hasn’t gone well. They allowed 37 points to Bryce Young in the season opener and 31 against Jordan Love two weeks ago. Maye is absolutely in that same class, if not better. Chicago can’t just pray the offense somehow finds a way to win a shootout. To beat New England, you have to disrupt Maye. The solution isn’t easy, but it is simple.
If you want to beat Maye, you have to sack him.
Drake Maye is good, but he’s hardly anything new.
That is to say, like any other quarterback, he doesn’t like getting hit. His numbers reflect this to a significant degree. Since the start of 2025, Maye has played in 10 games where he was sacked 2 times or fewer. In those games, he averaged 263 yards passing with 25 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. By contrast, in games in which he was sacked 3 or more times, he averaged 238 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions. In other words, when you start getting to him, Maye turns it over a lot.
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| Metric (Incl. Playoffs) | Sacked ≤ 2 Times | Sacked ≥ 3 Times |
|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 10 | 17 |
| Passing Yards / Game | 263.4 | 238.3 |
| Touchdown % | 8.77% | 4.51% |
| Interception % | 1.05% | 3.14% |
| TD : INT Ratio | 8.33 : 1 (25 TD / 3 INT) | 1.44 : 1 (23 TD / 16 INT) |
The message seems pretty clear. If you don’t get to Drake Maye, he’s going to light you up. As most good quarterbacks would. Can the Bears make it happen? That is difficult to answer. Montez Sweat has another game to serve on his PED suspension. Dayo Odeyingbo won’t be back until next month. Daniel Hardy came up big for them last week in Atlanta, but it isn’t a group that inspires much confidence. However, there might be one thing that is working in their favor.
The Patriots’ offensive line is in a bad spot.
It is looking like both of their starting guards will not play in this game. Ben Johnson has a knee injury, and Alijah Vera-Tucker tweaked his knee. If that weren’t enough, right tackle Morgan Moses is dealing with a foot issue that leaves him questionable. Even in their depleted state, the Bears should be able to take advantage of those losses. Much depends on whether they can stop New England’s ground attack, which has been better than last season. Maye is often at his best off play action.
Dennis Allen is a tremendous defensive coordinator, but he can’t do everything for the defense. Guys must win their matchups to make this happen. They managed to sack Michael Penix 5 times last weekend. Maybe they create some of that same magic against Maye. If not, they’d better hope Williams brings that same magic he showed against Atlanta.
