After missing eight tackles in a gritty win over the New York Jets last week, the New England Patriots doubled that total on Thursday night, missing 16 tackles in a 30-24 defeat to the Chicago Bears.
The last time the Patriots eclipsed that total?
Look no further than their 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, where New England trailed 19-0 in the fourth quarter.
“[Our] tackling wasn’t good enough. Not against his team,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “We knew coming in, certainly tackling on
Thursday night, but against this team, whether it’s [D’Andre] Swift, [Luther Burden III] or [Caleb Williams], it just leads to extra yards and conversions. But we fought, and I would say that we need to turn the ball over and we have to tackle better, and those are fundamental skills.”
Struggling to consistently match the Bears’ physicality past the line of scrimmage, the Patriots’ defense had difficulty shedding blocks, which played a significant role in Luther Burden III’s 130 yards and one touchdown on just four catches in the first half alone.
That mismatch remained in the second half.
Early in the third quarter, the Chicago offense ran a naked bootleg 11 yards out from the end zone. Caleb Williams connected with his tight end, Colston Loveland, crossing over the middle of the field. Loveland, turning towards the end zone, quickly shed a Marcus Jones tackle and fought through another two New England defenders as he broke past the plane to extend the Patriots’ deficit by two scores.
“I got to make the tackle when it comes down to that,” Jones said. “And then [the Bears] had certain schemes where they would line up in certain formations, run overs to where we’re away from leverage and things like that. But as the game went on, we learned and stuff, but I’m a hard critic of myself. So, I will get it corrected for sure.”
On the ground, the story wasn’t much different.
With Swift and a handful of Roschon Johnson carries, Chicago managed 3.1 yards after contact in the run game against New England’s defensive front. That number surpasses the Kansas City Chiefs’ league-leading average of three yards per attempt this season with Kenneth Walker.
The defensive line’s shortcomings in finishing plays also extended into its pass rush. Although the Patriots sacked Williams three times, the unit generated 25 total pressures on his dropbacks and created plenty more opportunities to force Williams into inaccurate throws. Too often, however, the opposing quarterback escaped near-sacks and turned those plays into chunk gains through the air.
Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns on the evening, completing 22 of his 33 pass attempts. Meanwhile, New England’s defense came up short in its efforts to force a turnover.
“We talked about it all week. [Williams is] very gifted with how he can run and how he can extend plays,” cornerback Christian Gonzalez said. “I talked about before the game: you got to defend the second play. There’s a play, and then there’s a second play with a quarterback like Caleb. So, it’s a challenge for the secondary. It’s about the whole team, but we look forward to it. We embrace it, and they got the best of us tonight.”
