Caleb Williams Outduels Drake Maye as Bears Beat Patriots 30-24
Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and the Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night at Soldier Field. The win, in front of 60,520 fans, lifts Chicago to 5-2. New England falls to 4-3.
The game pitted two quarterbacks drafted in the same class. Chicago took Williams first overall in the 2024 NFL draft, and New England took Drake Maye third. The Guardian reported that the two are friends, which made the rivalry feel personal on the field.
Maye had the bigger numbers for a while. He completed 24 of 31 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception in the end zone in the first half, which killed a Patriots scoring chance. Williams completed 22 of 33 passes, and his 308 yards gave him back-to-back 300-yard games. No Bears quarterback has done that since Mitch Trubisky threw for 300 or more in three straight games in 2018.
This was Williams' second game back after a hamstring strain kept him out for three weeks. In his return against the Atlanta Falcons, he completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards and a touchdown in a Chicago win. Hamstring injuries can linger, so a quarterback getting back to 300 yards in consecutive weeks is worth watching.
Chicago's best receiver on Thursday was Luther Burden, who caught four passes for 130 yards. Burden's yardage gave Williams a reliable target when the Patriots tried to slow the passing game.
The final minutes decided it. Cairo Santos hit a 58-yard field goal with 1:34 left. That matched the longest field goal in Bears history, a franchise record, and it gave Chicago a comfortable cushion. Andy Borregales answered with a 47-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining, cutting the lead to 30-24, but New England ran out of time before it could tie or take the lead.
Two practice-squad players also had a role in the game. The Bears elevated linebacker Buddy Johnson and running back Zavier Scott from the practice squad, the group of players who train with the team but are not on the active roster. Under NFL rules, a team can bring up a practice-squad player for a game, and that player goes back to the practice squad afterward. Both players will revert once the game is over.
For Chicago, the result keeps the early season on track and puts its quarterback back in the spotlight after a short absence. For New England, Maye's first-half interception is the play the coaches will likely study first on film. Both teams now face the rest of the season with a clear picture of what their quarterbacks can do.
