Bears most to blame for Week 10 loss to Patriots

Yes, he’s playing with a lot stacked against him. First, he’s a rookie and still navigating his way. And the offensive line in front of him is an injury mess.

But 16 of 30 for 120 yards won’t get the job done at the NFL level in this day and age. The Bears managed just 142 yards and were 1 of 14 on third downs, facing a team that came in tied for the worst record in the NFL. Things got bad enough that Bears fans started chanting “Fire ‘Flus!” in reference to the Bears’ embattled head coach.

For Williams, it marked the third straight game he hasn’t be on top of his game. That came on the heels of two games where it looked like he might be emerging as a big-time NFL threat. But against the Patriots he made questionable decisions, had inaccurate throws, and played a role in some of the sacks. And against a team ranked No. 24 in total defense, this can only be classified as a poor performance by Williams.

Williams said it starts with himself, according to a post on X by Kevin Fishbain.

“Bears QB Caleb Williams: “It first starts with me. I had 2-3 plays in key moments of situational ball where it didn’t click in my head.”

Caleb Williams said there are plenty of areas to improve

The Bears can do better and be better, Williams said, according to espn.com.

“We know how good we are, we know how good we can be,” Williams said. “And right now we’re not executing. We’re not hitting on cylinders. (But) we have all the confidence in each other, to be honest with you.”

Eberflus said Williams and everybody else need to digest things and get back on track, according to chicagobears.com.

“We have to take a hard look, an inward look, accept accountability and then be accountable to the guy to the right and to the left,” coach Matt Eberflus said after the Bears fell to 4-5. “That’s how you do this thing when you have adversity like this. That’s how you pull together and that’s the answer you have.”

The Bears converted only 7% of their third-down opportunities (1 of 14) in the game.

“We have to pull together and find the answers because we have all the answers that we need in the room,” Eberflus said. “We have evidence on tape and in games playing great complementary football and playing with great passion this year.”

Bears pass defense came up lacking

It’s not like the Bears fell apart, but they allowed two many drives to end in points for Patriots’ rookie quarterback Drake Maye.

Maye completed 15 of 25 passes for 184 yards with a touchdown and a pick. The Patriots also rushed for 144 yards on 35 attempts, led by running back Rhamondre Stevenson’s 74 yards on 20 carries.

“We didn’t play well today at all,” said safety Kevin Byard III. “Credit to those guys. Their defense played better than ours and we didn’t come out with the execution that we needed to win the game. They got a bunch of pressure on our quarterback. We didn’t get enough pressure on theirs, and he made plays when he needed to in some critical moments of the game, and that’s how you lose.”

Momentum waned early for the Bears, and they couldn’t get it back.

“I thought we started the game out solid in terms of having some momentum there with the big return, with the interception,” Eberflus said. “We have to do a good job of capitalizing on those to create momentum early.

“The great thing I told the players is that we have evidence on tape of doing that. It’d be different if you didn’t have any evidence. We have evidence of that. It’s the same guys in the room, same guys in the circle. So it’s important that we find a way to get that done.”

Part of the problem with the Bears’ defense came with a lack of pressure on Maye. The Bears managed only one sack.

DeAndre Swift and ground game couldn’t get it done

Of course it comes back to the offensive line. Teven Jenkins suffered an ankle injury, further depleting an already patchwork unit.

Injuries dwindled the Bears to one starting offensive lineman in his original position. That man is center Coleman Shelton remained in his normal spot. Guard Matt Pryor is a fill in at right tackle. Doug Kramer also got punched into the mix while veteran guard Ryan Bates joined the fray after activation from injured reserve.

Eberflus had hoped Bates would show solid depth, according to chicagobears.com.

“It’s going to be good to have some depth in there and some different pieces in there,” Eberflus said. “Obviously with our injuries, we’re going to need that for sure.”

But the Bears couldn’t Swift on track. Swift finished with 59 yards on 16 carries. His longest run of the game netted only nine yards.