Cardiac Caleb’s days may be over – at least for now.
Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams has a new (and equally difficult) job. He must figure out how to protect his lead, an especially difficult task when his defense is as incredible as it was Thursday night in a 30-24 win over the New England Patriots at Soldier Field.
Williams was great – except for a sack late in the game (which we’ll get to). Williams was 22 of 33 for 308 yards with two touchdowns and against a respectable Patriots defense that features one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in Christian Gonzalez.
There is no doubt that Williams is an elite quarterback. But he continues to prove that he and coach Ben Johnson can win games in different ways. And man – Bears look dangerous. Don’t worry about regression in Chicago.
Here are my suggestions:
It was abundantly clear that Johnson had no interest in giving the ball to Drake Maye in a one-score game.
The Bears coach did everything he could to drain the clock and score some points on Chicago’s final score, which was essentially their final drive, unless you eliminated the winning formation. On third-and-long, they called plays that allowed Williams to target passes down the field — that put the ball in jeopardy. Look no further than his incredible (but definitely dangerous) throw from Williams on third-and-9 to receiver Rome Odunze with five minutes left in the game.
But, not by chance, aggressiveness almost cost them points.
On third-and-5 with 1:46 left, the Bears very reasonably could have punted the ball away, forced the Patriots to take a timeout and then punted. But Chicago wanted a first down, so Johnson called a shotgun snap — and the QB got a sack, knocking the offense out of bounds.
So Johnson doubled down, attempting a field goal that outscored Bears’ career-long running back Cairos Santos by five yards. And it paid off, with Santos making it.
Those last two decisions – to throw on third down and throw out of the punter’s established range – were gutsy. They were the kinds of decisions that, if they had gone wrong, would have led to a lot of questions. But Johnson bet on his sons. And in the end, they showed up for their coach.
Santos’ layup pushed the lead to nine points with 90 seconds left, ending the game.
2.
Drake Maye’s strongest bond isn’t with AJ Brown – It’s with his tight ends
Drake Maye may still be struggling to match up with AJ Brown, but the young QB generated some incredible plays with his tight ends on Thursday.
The collision with tight end Eli Raridon was a simple testament to Maye’s seemingly limitless talent. On first and 15 in the third quarter, the Bears brought in six runners — and they caught Maye quickly. But he was quicker on the draw, getting the ball downfield to the streaking Rarido, creating impressive separation against veteran linebacker Devin Bush.
I like the show on its own merits. But I also like that Maye returned to Raridon for a score when – earlier in the game – Maye threw an interception to the tight end on a seam route. New England has kept Rarido quiet for a while now, but he was outstanding in training camp. And I suspect he will gain more targets in the coming weeks.
But there’s a reason why he’s been a well-kept secret. There’s veteran tight end Hunter Henry, who is one of Maye’s favorite and most reliable targets.
We saw Henry appear in another of Maye’s biggest shows. Maye rolled right and avoided a sack on third down — before seeing Henry, sliding out of the pass defense (which was almost makeshift) just in time for the two to connect for a first down.
They had no business converting that game. But Maye found a way, thanks to his crafty veteran.
It’s still troubling that Brown remains a non-factor in this offense. But it feels like a matter of time for him to get up to speed. So in the meantime, it’s a great sign that they’re getting contributions from the tight ends — even in a loss.
3.
Luther Burden is becoming the Chicago star he thought he would be
This summer, Chicago was getting into Burden at a level you rarely see from a team. Barra was still unproven this offseason, and so the Bears’ decision to talk him up seemed risky. What if it didn’t live up to expectations?
Well, he kind of did. Entering Week 7, Burden had posted decent numbers — but nothing special, with just one carry and zero 100-yard games heading into Thursday night. His best performance was actually last week against the Falcons, when he had a season-high 8 catches for a season-high 95 yards. But there was nothing pedestrian about what he did to the Patriots defense.
He finished the game with four receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown, along with one carry for seven yards.
Wide receiver Luther Burden III celebrates his 24-yard touchdown against the Patriots. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
And what was most remarkable was the way he looked so open on big plays, creating tremendous separation on some occasions and exploiting seemingly broken coverages on others. Just an impressive performance from the youngster, even if his celebration was extensive got him into trouble with his QB in the first half.
4.
The Patriots pulled off something special to end the first half
McDaniels called something mean against the Bears late in the first half. It looked like Chicago thought the Patriots were planning to throw a Hail Mary, so the Bears got fired up — five runners — and dropped deep into coverage. So New England called Stevenson a screen pass.
Across the field, running evenly with Stevenson, receiver AJ Brown was ready to crossfield. And Brown was open. So as Stevenson crossed the 30-yard line and pulled the ball, it looked like he might beat it to Brown. But no, Stevenson fielded the ball and outran defenders essentially untouched in the end zone.
For six extraordinary and impossible points.
RB had a 4.3% chance to score when the ball hit his hands, according to Next Generation Stats. These figures changed rapidly. They absolutely stole points in the second half.
4 ½. What’s next?
New England will be back with a Week 8 game against the Dolphins in Miami. The Patriots get a mini bye from the TNF game. New England might be happy to have him. The Geese need to make sure they don’t fall prey to a trap game against Miami.
I know, I know, I know. Dolphins are terrifying. But in Miami? The weather will be hot compared to New England. And the sharing game will make it more competitive than you think. Patriots better be careful.
No rest for the weary for the Bears. They go from one Super Bowl team to another. In Week 8, the Bears will travel to Seattle to face the defending champion Seahawks.
The good news is that Seattle looks a little more vulnerable this year. Offensively, the Seahawks are missing running back Kenneth Walker, which has made life more difficult for Sam Darnold, who is turning the ball over in dangerous video.
Seattle’s defense, however, is still stingy, with the fewest yards allowed per game in the NFL. It will be another tough test for Johnson and Williams.