The Chicago Bears made a statement with a 30-24 win over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football, where Caleb Williams bested his 2024 draft mate Drake Maye to help lead Chicago to a 5-2 record heading into a 10-day break.
It was ugly at times, despite the fact that the Bears led for the entire game. Penalties were once again an issue, as well as some drops, the pass defense struggled, the defensive line struggled to take advantage of a banged-up Patriots offensive line, tight end Cole Kmet suffered a knee injury that was a brutal blow for the offense and Cairo Santos' single doink nearly cost them the game -- until he kicked them to victory.
There's plenty to discuss from this game, including Caleb Williams' sensational performance,
Cairo Santos' redemption and the defense's struggles. Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their thoughts on Chicago's Week 7 win vs. New England.
Alyssa Barbieri
What a game. I knew coming into Thursday night's matchup between the Bears and Patriots that it was going to come down to the end, and Caleb Williams and Drake Maye put on a clinic for the entire football world watching, separating themselves from the rest of the 2024 quarterback draft class. Although, if not for some ugly plays and missed opportunities, it could've been a more comfortable win. But where's the fun in that? Especially when Caleb Williams is threading the needle to Rome Odunze for 21 yards on third-and-9 that led to Cairo Santos' game-winning 58-yard field goal.
Caleb Williams is a freaking star. Coming off arguably the best game of his career against the Falcons, he followed it up with a stellar showing against a talented Patriots defense. He had his second straight 300-yard passing performance, and he did it in a different way than Week 6. For all the criticism Williams received for his check downs against the Falcons, he aired it out against New England with some truly special throws, including the shot to Odunze on third-and-long to help extend the drive that put his team up two scores in the final minutes. Williams had eight completions of 20-plus yards against the Patriots, effectively silencing those critics.
Luther Burden is emerging as a star receiver for the Bears, and he had a monster first half with four catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. After a rough first half that included some drops and a penalty, Rome Odunze redeemed himself in a big way in the second half, including hauling in that 21-yard catch on third-and-9 and recovering the final onside kick to seal the win. Colston Loveland also had a nice game with seven catches for 69 yards and a score. Unfortunately, the Bears lost Cole Kmet to what appears to be a serious knee injury.
For all of the good that came on the offensive side of the ball, there are legitimate concerns about the state of the defense, which was down four starters and lost rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad to a toe injury mid-game. But the biggest issue is cornerback Jaylon Johnson, whose production hasn't just dipped but his effort. There were a couple of instances in this game, including that end-of-half touchdown in the final seconds, where Johnson just gave up as a tackler. He's become a detriment to this defense, and unfortunately it looks like he won't be part of the roster next year.
When all is said and done, the Bears made a statement with their win over a good Patriots team -- and it came on a short week. If Chicago can clean up the penalties, drops and perhaps upgrade the defense ahead of the trade deadline, there's no denying that they will be a legitimate Super Bowl candidate. Next up: Some much needed rest and a 10-day break before facing the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks on Monday Night Football.
Brendan Sugrue
Normally when the Bears have to play on Thursday night, I’m just hoping for a win. I don’t really care how it happens because of the short turnaround. Just find a way to get it done and move onto the next. And even knowing how crisp Caleb Williams and the offense looked last week, I didn’t expect another elite performance so quickly. But as always, the Iceman delivers, and so did the Bears.
I can’t remember the last time a Thursday Night Football game had this much hype, but it delivered. The Bears managed to keep the Patriots at an arm's length away the entire game, and any time they got in a jam, No. 18 found a way to get them out. Just as elite quarterbacks do.
We witnessed two MVP-caliber quarterbacks going head-to-head on Thursday night, and it’s still mind-boggling that one of them is a Chicago Bear. Williams was sensational with the football, completing unreal passes in critical situations with the whole world watching. Yes, the stats look great (22 of 33 for 308 yards and two touchdowns), but he’s passing the eye test. You can just tell what great quarterback play looks like, and he’s demonstrating it on a consistent basis now. And he had to do it with another top passer in this league going toe to toe with him on nearly every series.
Drake Maye struggled early but got going against this Bears defense, which came up big when they needed it the most but also let up too many big plays—including one of the worst end-of-half sequences we have ever seen. The tackling effort to bring down Rhamondre Stevenson by many defenders, most notably Jaylon Johnson, was embarrassing and could have sunk this team. Fortunately, they’re too resilient to fold that easily.
Thursday was a day of redemption for many players on both sides of the ball. It’s a reminder that (almost) no one on this team will quit and hang their head after a mistake. Whether it’s Rome Odunze or Colston Loveland rebounding with big catches following a drop, or Cairo Santos nailing a 58-yard field goal after doinking a kick earlier, these players showed resiliency all night long.
It’s great to go into the weekend with another win and hopefully get a few guys healthy for next week. I’m not encouraged regarding Cole Kmet’s outlook after what looked to be a devastating knee injury, but I’ll hold out hope for good news there as well.
Still, this was an incredible game and a statement to the rest of the league that the Chicago Bears are once again contenders, and they’re led by an elite quarterback.
Mike Pendleton
How about the maturation of Caleb Williams? The Superman throws are not happening all game, but his movement and decision making in the pocket has become superior. Back-to-back 300 yard passing games for Williams is great, but what’s even better is that the Bears are averaging 40 points a game in the three games that he’s played the full game in and won.
The Bears defense continues to get the job done, even if things get ugly at times. Ending the first half with the Patriots scoring on a 48-yard screen to Rhamondre Stevenson, is inexcusable. Luckily the offense did more than enough to keep the team ahead and ultimately improve to 5-2 on the year.
This game was also about redemption, as Cairo Santos and Rome Odunze made big plays down the stretch, because Ben Johnson believed in them. Johnson also got redemption after a baffling play in the first half on a handoff to Joe Thuney which was penalized, Johnson put faith in his kicker who had just previously missed and Santos iced the game. Chicago’s got plenty of talent, but they’re now becoming a team with strong belief and confidence, they’ll need that through this regular season.
Vinnie Parise
Thursday Night Football usually presents some of the sloppiest football that you’ll see from an NFL team. Most of the time, the teams playing in the Amazon Prime special are on considerably shorter rest than they are used to, and there is less time to prepare for the opponent strategically.
That wasn’t the case for the Bears. Things turned out to be a tad bit closer than they would have liked in their 30-24 victory over the New England Patriots, but you can’t beat everyone in the NFL by multiple scores every week. The Patriots, who were just in the Super Bowl, are a good team.
Caleb Williams had yet another 300+ yard performance for Chicago, as he led the offense to another 30 point game. In most cases, that is going to be enough to win. If the defense didn’t have one lapse with no time on the clock to end the first half, New England would have had an even lesser chance to win.
Coming into Week 6, the Bears had the two Super Bowl teams from last year staring them in the face. Now, one of them is down and one to go. With a mini-bye ahead following the TNF win, they can truly prepare for the defending champs next Monday night.
Randy Holt
I think the thing that is becoming increasingly remarkable about this team is their ability to bounce back, whether as broad as a week-to-week context or as small as play-to-play. Coming back against Atlanta after that bloodbath against Green Bay is one thing, especially with the energy of Caleb Williams returning. Watching so many individual performers make very glaring mistakes in this one against the Patriots – namely Rome Odunze, Cairo Santos – only for them to rebound and make crucial contributions down the stretch is another and speaks to the collective mindset of this group.
I continue to be astounded by what this offense can do. The last two weeks have featured an iteration of Caleb Williams that is efficient, receivers that are open, and an operation that can put away a game regardless of what is happening on the other side of the ball. Those slow starts of 2025 are firmly in the rearview. While it remains imperfect given various stages of development, it’s a legitimate joy to watch. And that’s all without Kyle Monangai to help close out games. The defense was obviously concerning, especially with the play going into half. But even within an uneven performance, D’Marco Jackson’s interception was imperative in helping the Bears see the whole thing through. They did just enough in this one.
Ultimately, this was a quality performance against a quality opponent. It’s feeling like this Bears team increasingly believes they can hang with anyone, and they don’t have to wait until the fourth quarter to do so anymore.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: The Morning After...the Bears' statement Week 7 win vs. Patriots
