Patriots-Bears preview: How Drake Maye and Co. can pull an upset in the Windy City

Two of the best young quarterbacks in football will go head-to-head Sunday in Chicago.

Maybe you’ve heard of them.

Bears rookie Caleb Williams, the No. 1 overall pick last April, has started every game this season. He’s completed 61.4% of his passes for 1,665 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. At 4-4, Chicago is squarely in the NFC playoff hunt.

And then there’s Drake Maye, the third pick in the draft and the Patriots’ greatest reason for hope amid a trying Year 1 of their rebuild. Maye has scored seven touchdowns, thrown four picks and led the Pats in rushing since he took over as the starter in Week 6. This week, Maye shared he’s known Williams since high school, when they often competed at camps and quarterback showcases.

Maye and Williams will reunite for the first time as pros at a critical point in their respective campaigns. So who will win?

Here’s what to watch for Sunday:

When the Patriots run

It’s a reset game plan for the Patriots.

Running back Rhamondre Stevenson and left tackle Vederian Lowe told the Herald this week the offense is intent on returning to its run-first roots, after compiling just 89 rushing yards on designed runs the last three games. The Patriots took a decisive loss at the line of scrimmage last week, when Stevenson finished with just 16 rush yards and a touchdown at Tennessee. Their most effective runs this season have often been on the inside, where the offense should be able to attack a weakened Bears defense.

Chicago ruled out starting defensive tackle Andrew Billings with a torn pectoral muscle. That will put more stress on athletic linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards to fly up and make stops. If Mike Onwenu and the Pats’ other offensive linemen are routinely reaching them at the second level, that should mean big gains for Stevenson.

When the Patriots pass

Asked this week where he can improve after four starts, Maye quickly pointed to his turnovers. He’s thrown four interceptions and lost a fumble. Maye knows the Bears will be hunting for more.

“They’re going to go after the football, we’re preaching ball security,” he said. “They play a lot of zone, so I think we’re going to have to find time and zone covers, where we’ve got to find guys open and make guys make yardage after the catch.”

Against Chicago’s preferred zone defenses, look for Maye to attack over the middle with tight end Hunter Henry and preferred slot option DeMario Douglas. Henry has seen the 10th-most targets against zone among all NFL pass-catchers, per Sports Info. Solutions, while Douglas is the Pats’ best-yards-after catch threat. One area Maye likely won’t attack: wherever Jaylon Johnson is. The Bears’ shutdown outside corner is one of the best in the league.

When the Bears run

Woo boy.

The Patriots continue to leak like a broken faucet against the run, allowing 167 last week and more than 170 per game over the previous month. Next up is Bears running back D’Andre Swift, who has 505 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season.

The good news is Chicago’s offensive line is awfully banged-up, which should create opportunities to build a wall at the line of scrimmage versus a smattering of backups. The key will be a bounce back from defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, the Pats’ top run-stopper, who has been anything but the last two weeks.

When the Bears pass

Like the Patriots, the Bears drafted a quarterback and a wide receiver with their top picks last April. That rookie receiver, Rome Odunze, is now their No. 1 option.

Odunze leads Chicago with 391 receiving yards, including a 100-yard performance last week at Arizona. He trails veteran D.J. Moore in total catches (37) and touchdowns (3), but is more dangerous as a big-play threat. After Odunze and Moore, tight end Cole Kmet is the only receiver with more than 300 yards and three touchdowns, while Swift and Keenan Allen (21 catches, 197 yards) aren’t far behind.

It will be interesting to see if the Patriots have No. 1 corner Christian Gonzalez shadow any of the Bears’ top wideouts. But perhaps it will behoove their defense to play like Chicago’s, leaning into a zone-heavy plan that guards equally against all receivers and can keep eyes on Williams. Because even when he drops back, Williams is a dangerous threat to run or create a big play over the top, something coach Jerod Mayo highlighted multiple times this week.

“This guy is very athletic. He’s elusive,” Mayo said of Williams. “He has great vision in the pocket, and I would say he scrambles more to make throws. Not as much – on the other side, you go against some quarterbacks in there, they’ll take off and get down the field. Not saying that he doesn’t do that, but he definitely does a good job keeping his eyes down the field and making those throws.”

Game pick

Bears 27, Patriots 23