A couple of things about my less-than-24-hour trip to the Windy City.
1. It felt like a playoff game, and not the early Saturday window one (aka the Texans' time slot). The energy at Soldier Field was awesome, and the crowd was quiet only when the public address announcer asked for a moment of silence for Chicago legend Mike Ditka. Patriot fans showed up in strong numbers. It got pretty loud after the Eli Raridon touchdown. After all these years covering not just the Pats but the rest of the league, I’d say San Fran, Pittsburgh, Dallas, this version of Buffalo and you folks show out the most. The players feel that support, too.
2. If you didn’t come away from this game and think we were watching the future of the quarterback position, we can’t be friends.
Both Drake Maye and Caleb Williams were exceptional, making one elite play after another. That doesn’t mean it was perfect. It shouldn’t be. They’re 24 years old, babies in this league. But the athleticism, throw variety, pocket presence, and real quarterbacking (dealing with protections, changing plays, etc.) were on display at a high level. Sign me up for a repeat of this game in Los Angeles in February.
On to Musings…
Maye’s ability to adapt to Dennis Allen’s diabolical pressure package was exceptional. His understanding that the Pats were outmanned on certain plays, and his immediate drift away from that side, was Mahomesian. Rewatch the TD to Raridon. He changed the protection - “Hey Hunter and Rhamondre, we’re going to slide to the other side” - and then gripped and ripped that throw. The Pats wanted to weaponize Maye’s brain this offseason. Mission accomplished?
Now Maye certainly had a couple of dropbacks he’d like back; the sack he took in the 4th quarter after the Cairo Santos missed a field goal is probably at the top of the list, but otherwise, chef’s kiss. Maye completed 11 of 12 versus pressure for 151 yards. Contrast that with the player we saw over that 7-game stretch from the postseason through September — a different guy.
As I stated before the game, the folks I talk to around the league - almost to a man - would take Williams, but I did get a couple of texts - an offensive coordinator and a pro personnel guy - who are on Caleb’s side of the street and were wowed by Maye’s performance. “I might want to change my vote,” the former said. Duly noted.
As for the interception, I’ve seen others say Maye could have/should have thrown the crossing route to Brown. Disagree. Raridon was open. The decision was good. It was the throw that stunk. If you’re gonna miss there, high and away, not short and to the inside.
Yes, Vrabel wanted the Pats to run the ball on Thursday, but with the offensive line in that state, I’m not surprised they abandoned the idea pretty quickly. That said, Rhamondre Stevenson remains the most valuable player on offense not named Maye. I had him for multiple plus blocks in pass protection, including a couple of de-cleaters as a chipper; his 13-yard run was impressive; the cutback on the 48-yard touchdown proved he’s niftier and faster than you think, so give the dude his flowers. Stevenson has one fumble this season. Get over it.
I would like to see more of Corey Kiner and less of TreVeyon Henderson. I doubt the Pats will do that, especially as Henderson’s ankle improves, but Kiner had two terrific runs where he was decisive and powerful and showed vision the other guy doesn’t have. Meanwhile, Henderson once again didn’t see what was available to him on a couple of rushes and also whiffed badly in pass protection.
Hunter Henry is back and he’s back big. Whatever slowed him for the first month - I know he had a right arm injury - but that doesn’t affect how you run, seems long gone and hard to find. He’s not running a 4.5 or anything, but his route savvy, overall feel for spacing, and the job he did operating out of a split backfield is exactly what this offense needs.
Raridon is officially a mismatch for linebackers. He’s too fast for most of ‘em. The Pats had a matchup they liked there and took advantage of it, except for the red zone INT (he was open). But the run blocking remains more miss than hit. The rookie is just not strong enough to sustain on some of these plays. Still, the Pats offense turned it around once they leaned into multi-tight end usage on Thursday.
Every offensive lineman was responsible for at least one pressure (Walter Rouse and Will Campbell each had two, and Campbell nearly prevented the Raridon TD by getting caved in on the blindside). But overall, not bad considering how makeshift the unit is right now and how Allen challenges their rules. Rewatch those first few series and see how many times the Pats had multiple offensive linemen blocking no one. Not ideal.
The A.J. Brown on the field in Chicago was the guy I thought we’d see last weekend against the Jets. He lacked explosiveness against the Bears and struggled to create separation on anything down the field. Contrast that with his game against Gang Green, where he carved out plenty of space, but his hands failed him. As for the effort, it wasn’t what you’re looking for. I counted four times when his run blocking was lacking and cost the Pats yards. Brown also gets paid the big bucks to fight through contact and catch that first-go route. The second one, late in the game, was perplexing. He just let the DB play the ball while he waited. Nope. That won’t do. Wide receiver coach Todd Downing may have his hands full here. We shall see.
The rest of the wide receivers were on the side of a milk carton. Efton Chism has one catch over the last weeks, though he did draw a DPI on the final drive. Did Kyle Williams play (21 snaps, 19 of them pass plays, 0 targets)? I mean, if not now, when?
I can’t recall Marcus Jones playing that poorly. He missed five tackles, including the first explosive to Luther Burden and two touchdowns. Jones also took a bad angle on Burden’s 24-yard score on the screen. Yeah, he ended up with a sack, but too many of his blitzes didn’t affect Williams at all (that’s on you, Zak Kuhr, as much as anybody).
Ben Johnson broke Robert Spillane's brain, and the result was a couple of missed tackles and too much space given on some of his pass drops. His partner in crime, Christian Elliss, had three QB pressures and was excellent going sideline to sideline in pursuit. But that coverage screw-up on the 58-yarder to Burden fell on him; he reacted late to some misdirection and his work as a spy on Williams failed to discourage the QB in some big moments.
Gabe Jacas, future star? If he keeps trending in this direction, I wouldn’t be surprised. I had him for three pressures, consistently stout at the point of attack, and opposing offensive coordinators who think they can block him with a tight end should be forced to watch this tape. Yes, that roughing penalty was one of the dumbest plays of the season - the ball was out like 2 seconds earlier - and he was so lost on the Burden jet sweep in the red zone, but otherwise, this is one bad man.
Maybe Jacas is learning this by watching Dre’Mont Jones. All game, I kept repeating what OLB coach Mike Smith said about him: “He’s a war daddy.” That shoulder is hurt, but Jones is battling through it. His matchup with All-Pro RT Darnell Wright was fun, and Jones was tasked with defending the edge and keeping Williams in the pocket on his throwing side. He did a fine job.
Milton Williams and Christian Barmore were a handful for this Bears defense down the stretch. That’s the good news. The bad news is they were way too quiet for much of the first three quarters. I had Williams for two pressures, a TFL and a couple of disruptions at the point of attack. As for Barmore, he missed a tackle, had two run disruptions, and sacked Williams in the 4th quarter (he got the wind knocked out of him), pushing the Bears into a 58-yard field goal attempt (that was cash money). Against better teams, the Pats need more from these two.
Carlton Davis, hurry back now, you hear? Charles Woods is doing what he can, but he’s the 4th corner for a reason. Good here and there, but there’s a ceiling on what kind of player he is. Woods missed a couple of tackles, was responsible for an explosive play in coverage, got targeted on a 4th-down conversion, and held after a third-down stop, getting flagged for it. That gave the Bears a first down, and they went on to score a TD on that drive.
Fairly quiet day from Elijah Ponder. Two pressures, no sacks, and he was way too far upfield on Swift’s TD run. Christian Gonzalez was on the scene for two 20+ yard completions and wasn’t particularly aggressive as a tackler. He sounded terrible after the game (I was tempted to wear a HazMat suit in his presence), but if you’re out there, more is expected.
“The Jaylen Reed trade” didn’t pay dividends this week. Colston Loveland bullied him on the Bears’ final touchdown drive, stacking him and then losing him on his break. If he were playing better, the Pats might have considered more big nickel. But he’s not, so….