The New England Patriots had every opportunity to pull off the upset, but in the end, a gutsy career-long 58-yard field goal by kicker Cairo Santos sealed it for the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.
Despite starting two new offensive linemen, missing two receivers and missing their No. 2 cornerback, the Patriots showed up to Soldier Field with plenty of fight left in the tank. However, they were turned back empty-handed in primetime with one bad turnover by quarterback Drake Maye, a disappointing defensive performance and far too many penalties to give themselves a real shot.
Outside of the second-quarter interception, Maye was exceptional playing behind a banged-up offensive line. He finished the game going 24-of-31 passing for 321 yards, two
touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for 26 yards and one touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Maye was the leading rusher for an offense that once again struggled to move the ball on the ground. That put the unit at a disadvantage considering defenders knew to key in on A.J. Brown, who only had three catches for 48 yards.
There was no Romeo Doubs or Mack Hollins to draw attention away.
On the defensive side of the ball, the unit struggled to get the Bears off the field, along with looking uncharacteristically undisciplined in the game. They took bad angles, and the tackling was poor at times throughout the matchup.
The Patriots had 10 penalties in the game, and they trailed in time of possession by nearly five minutes. It's hard to win on the road with those kinds of mistakes.
The good news for the Patriots is that they will have extra time to lick their wounds before heading back out on the road to South Beach to face the Miami Dolphins next week. The bad news is that they still have key starters on injured reserve. They look like a potential contender if they can overcome the injuries and get healthier down the road.
But they have some serious work to do to keep the ship afloat before that happens.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Instant analysis of Bears ending Patriots' three-game win streak
