Tonight’s the night! Week 7 starts early with a Thursday Night Football matchup in Chicago. It’s the injured Pats, a short week, on the road against a tough opponent, and no one’s picking them to win. What’s not to love?!?
TEAM TALK
Patriots-Bears updated Injury Report.
Mike Dussault gives us 3 to Watch: Patriots to face Bears on Thursday Night Football. 1. Clean it up.
Evan Lazar analyzes the injury report ahead of tonight’s game: Patriots ruled out CB Carlton Davis III (neck), G Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring),
G Ben Brown (knee), CB Karon Prunty (hamstring), and CB Channing Canada (hamstring).
Expert Predictions: Week 7 picks for Patriots at Bears. /Mostly Bears, but a few Pats sprinkled in to win.
Transcript: Mike Vrabel (Plus, 9 min. video)
Press Conferences: Rhamondre Stevenson, DeMario Douglas, and Dre’Mont Jones.
Patriots All Access: Bears preview, More. (40 min. video)
All Access Interview: Eliot Wolf. (3 min. video)
Patriots Unfiltered on TV: Jets recap, Bears preview, exclusive with DeMario Douglas. (22 min.)
Patriots Catch-22: Bears preview, Keys to the game, Injury updates. (52 min.)
LOCAL LINKS
Andrew Callahan’s Pats-Bears preview: How Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel can pull an upset on Thursday night.
Mark Morse previews the Chicago Bears: Examining their offensive firepower and defensive strengths.
Phil Perry’s Patriots-Bears preview: Maye vs. Williams a battle of electric, maturing QBs. Matchup that could determine the outcome: Patriots backup offensive linemen vs. Dennis Allen.
Ethan Hurwitz spotlights 4 big-time storylines that could define the Pats-Bears TNF battle: Can AJ Brown bounce back, young QBs go head-t0-head, can Bears defense dictate the game, elite head coaching matchup.
Mark Daniels and Lauren Campbell give us 5 things to watch: Will run game be impactful for Pats vs. Bears?
Karen Guregian says the Drake Maye-Caleb Williams show should be a blast. They are ‘the cream of the crop’.
Mike Reiss has a terrific story about things you don’t know about RB Rhamondre Stevenson, one of the NFL’s best running back in pass protection.
Nick Goss makes the case that Caleb Lomu is too good to not start each week.
Michael Hurley sees the Patriots already facing a number crunch with injured reserve activations.
Mike Reiss cleans out out the Patriots notebook after win over Jets, moving quickly to the Bears.
Doug Kyed’s Patriots Extra Points: What makes O-line mad about Maye, CB Woods’ “JR” nickname; More.
Mark Daniels’ Patriots Takeaways: Why Mike Vrabel carries Jolly Ranchers, two O-linemen ruled out; More.
NATIONAL NEWS
Dan Parr (NFL) Patriots vs. Bears: Three must-know storylines for Thursday’s prime-time game. 1. The first and third overall picks from the 2024 draft renew acquaintances. 2.Will A.J. Brown bounce back from his rough return? 3. Is the Bears’ defense for real?
Myles Simmons (ProFootballTalk) Ben Johnson: Drake Maye is an elite deep ball thrower, can crush you with his legs.
Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) A.J. Brown on Sunday’s rough outing: I’m moving forward.
Cameron Filipe (Football Zebras) Week 7 referee assignments. Pats-Bears: Alan Eck.
Eva Geitheim (SI) The biggest question for every Week 7 game. Pats-Bears: Which member of the 2024 quarterback class will win the duel?
Bill Barnwell (ESPN) Proposing NFL trade deadline offers. Patriots included.
Eva Geitheim (SI) Week 7 picks from MMQB staff. Seven of eight pick Bears to win.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) NFL fines Mike Vrabel, Aaron Glenn, Nick Sirianni $250,000 each for conduct toward officials. “the fines are … on hold, and could be repealed with good behavior.”
Albert Breer (SI) Owners’ Meeting Notes: Televising the NFL replay process could come very soon; Plus, more on the tension between players, coaches, and officials and more.
Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) In their SoFi Stadium incident, Troy Aikman’s position to Joe Buck was: “You f—ked me over!”/Every man for himself in contract negotiations.
VIEW FROM CHICAGO
Jason Lieser (Chicago Sun Times) What to watch for in Bears-Patriots on Thursday: Led by Christian Gonzalez and Kevin Byard, the Patriots might have the most talented secondary in the NFL. Plus, how will the Bears generate a pass rush against Drake Maye?
Phil Thompson (Chicago Tribune) 5 things to watch in Chicago Bears-New England Patriots matchup on Thursday: 1. The return of ex-Bears safety Kevin Byard III, More; Plus our Week 7 predictions. All three pick Bears to win.
Mike Pendleton (Bears Wire) 3 keys for Bears offense vs. Patriots in prime time. 1. Clean pocket for Caleb Williams.
Jason Lieser (Chicago Sun Times) Patriots QB Drake Maye emerges as Bears QB Caleb Williams’ main rival from 2024 NFL Draft class.
Brendan Sugrue (Bears Wire) 5 Patriots players to watch vs. Bears. 1. Drake Maye.
Colby Shannon (SI-Bears) Do Bears RBs pose the biggest threat to a Patriots win?
Jerry Markarian (SI-Bears) Bold predictions for the Chicago Bears Week 7 matchup against Patriots. 1. Caleb Williams throws for 325 yards, 3 TDs.
Alyssa Barbieri (Bears Wire) Statistical Breakdown: How Bears and Patriots stack up before Week 7.
