Following a game against their division rival Jets, the New England Patriots are up against a relatively unfamiliar opponent. They will travel to Chicago this week to take on the Bears on Thursday Night Football. It will be only the 17th meeting between the two storied franchises.
Let’s take a look back at the most important moments from the first 16.
Patriots vs. Bears series history
Overall history: Even though the most memorable game of the series is a Bears win, it is the Patriots who have won the majority of the first 16 contests
between the two organizations. New England holds an 11-5 edge after winning six of eight games since 2000. Those include a come-from-behind victory in 2002 that saw Tom Brady and company erase a 27-6 deficit in the late third quarter to ultimately win 33-30, as well as a lopsided 51-23 win during the 2014 season that was dominated by Rob Gronkowski and his three touchdowns. Chicago, as we will discuss shortly, is 1-0 against the Patriots in the playoffs.
First game: Three years after the AFL-NFL merger, the Patriots and Bears met for the first time. The game at Soldier Field was a defensive affair that saw the two teams combine for only 98 net passing yards as well as six turnovers. Five of those were forced by New England, putting the team on the path to success. The winning points were scored in the fourth quarter, when quarterback Jim Plunkett found the end zone on a 5-yard quarterback keeper to give the Patriots a 13-10 win. Neither they nor the Bears were overly successful as a whole in 1973, though. | Highlights
Most memorable game: Unfortunately for the Patriots, the most memorable out of their meetings with the Bears is Super Bowl XX. New England did manage to take a 3-0 lead and by doing so score the first points of the playoffs against Chicago’s famous 46 defense, but it ultimately was unable to hang on: the NFC champions scored 44 unanswered points, including the famous 1-yard rushing touchdown by defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry in the third quarter. When all was said and done, the team of head coach Raymond Berry finished with just 123 net yards and turned the ball over six times en route to a 46-10 blowout that was the most lopsided defeat in a Super Bowl at the time. | Highlights
Most recent game: The Patriots’ most recent matchup with the Bears brought more pleasant memories than the 1986 defeat, albeit at a smaller scale. Meeting at Soldier Field in 2024, the team led by then-head coach Jerod Mayo and then-rookie quarterback Drake Maye celebrated a 19-3 win. Maye was solid, but the defense was the story of the day: led by Deatrich Wise Jr. and Anfernee Jennings, who each registered two takedowns, the Patriots sacked Caleb Williams nine times and limited Chicago to 142 yards. | Highlights
The Patriots and Bears will add to their series history on Thursday at 8:20 p.m. ET.
