The Chicago Bears were staring down the toughest part of their schedule going into Thursday night. They would have to take down the defending AFC champion New England Patriots, then go on the road against the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. It felt like they had to get a win against at least one of them to feel safe about their playoff hopes going into the bye next month. New England was a tough test on only four days’ rest. They boasted a top 10 defense and a red-hot quarterback in Drake Maye.
How would they respond?
With one of their best overall team efforts of the season. Chicago stared the Patriots dead in the eye and didn’t blink. They overcame some ugly dropped passes and missed field goals to still prevail 30-24. However, this wasn’t one of those games where it was a coaching showcase. Sure, head coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had their moments, but this game belongs to the Bears’ stars—everybody who needed to show up for this game delivered in big moments.
The Chicago Bears got contributions from all of the big names.
Of course, it started with quarterback Caleb Williams, who delivered his second consecutive 300-yard game with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. He completed 66.7% of his passes and probably would’ve had over 70% again if not for some drops. Next was Luther Burden, who had his best game of the season with 130 yards. One catch set up a short touchdown for D’Andre Swift, and he scored another touchdown on a bubble screen to the house. New England had no answers for him.
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Then there were Colston Loveland and Rome Odunze. The two 1st round picks had an ugly start to the game, combining for 3 drops. It looked like they might contribute to a team collapse. However, both young men rallied down the stretch. Loveland caught a touchdown to put the Chicago Bears up 27-21. Odunze made two incredible catches to convert 1st downs, keep the clock moving, and get that last field goal to make it 30-21. Then, just for good measure, he recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.
It was the same on defense as well.
Kyler Gordon added his 4th sack in two games since his return, not to mention two tackles for a loss. Dillon Thieneman again led the team with 7 tackles and combined with Daniel Hardy on another sack. Rookie receiver Zavion Thomas had a 47-yard kick return, and Tory Taylor, despite a quieter evening, averaged 53.5 yards per punt. Last but not least, Cairo Santos overcame a missed field goal that could’ve lost them the game to deliver a career-long 58-yarder to put it out of reach. When we say this was a team victory, it truly was.
All the big guys showed up against one of the best teams in the league. This wasn’t a case where the Patriots gave the game away. They played well. It just didn’t matter. The Bears played the better game across the board. Stars for stars, Chicago answered the bell. That is what great teams do. People can talk about the losses to Minnesota and Green Bay all day. The facts haven’t changed. This team is ready to make a run.
