Bears vs. Patriots: Chicago returns to Soldier Field in desperate need of a rebound win

CHICAGO – After losing two in a row this season and now sitting at 4-4, the Bears desperately need a comeback win or two.

The schedule offers sufficient opportunity for this.

The Bears' away struggles under head coach Matt Eberflus have been well-documented, but they've been really good at home. And they now have three straight games at Soldier Field, starting at noon Sunday against the 2-7 New England Patriots.

The Bears have won eight straight at Soldier Field since last season, and the home winning streak is nine straight when including their Week 6 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, which is a Bears home game acted.

This is also the last game the Bears won. They were 4-2 at the start of the bye week, but suffered a brutal last-second Hail Mary loss to the Commanders in Washington and fell to the Cardinals last Sunday in Arizona.

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Chicago will try to right the balance on Sunday against a struggling New England team that is no match for the Patriots' Super Bowl champions Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

WGN Radio's Kevin Powell joined the WGN Weekend Morning News on Sunday to talk about the Bears and their game against the Patriots. Powell says the Bears desperately need a win to get back on track in what has been a roller coaster 2024 season. Watch the video attached to this story to see.

Here's what else you need to know for Sunday's game:

New England (2-7) at Chicago (4-4)

Sunday, noon, FOX

Injuries and inactivity

UPDATE: The Bears have announced their inactives for Sunday's game.

They are DB Jaquan Brisker, LB Noah Sewell, OL Darnell Wright, OL Braxton Jones, DB Ameer Speed, DL Darrell Taylor, OL Nate Davis and OL Kiran Amegadjie.

The Bears announced early Sunday morning that Davis had been placed on the injury report with a back injury and would be out against the Patriots.

Davis was not listed on the team's injury report Friday.

This report already listed Brisker (concussion), Amegadjie (calf), Jones (knee) and Wright (knee) as out for Sunday's game.

However, the Bears received some good injury news this week. DB Kyler Gordon, OL Teven Jenkins and DL Montez Sweat were listed as full participants Friday.

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Gordon missed the last two games with a hamstring injury, while Sweat was sidelined just before last week's game with a calf injury, a big reason the Bears couldn't stop the Cardinals' rushing attack.

The Patriots also announced their inactives for Sunday's game.

They are WR Tyquan Thornton, QB Joe Milton III, S Kyle Dugger, LB Christian Elliss, OL Tyrese Robinson, DT Eric Johnson and DE Yannick Ngakoue.

Using the numbers

BetMGM NFL odds: Bears at 6 1/2 (subject to change).

Against the spread: Patriots 3-5-1; Bears 4-3-1

Series record: The Patriots lead 10-5.

Last meeting: The Bears defeated the Patriots 33-14 on October 24, 2022 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Last week: The Patriots lost 20-17 in overtime at Tennessee; The Bears lost 29-9 in Arizona.

Patriots offense: Total (32), Rush (24), Pass (32), Scoring (30).

Patriots Defense: Total (25-T), Rushing (26), Passing (22), Scoring (21).

Bears offense: Total (28), Rush (23), Pass (29), Scoring (19).

Bears defense: Total (12), Rush (20), Pass (8), Rating (5-T).

Sales difference: Patriots minus-3; Bears plus-7.

Patriots player to watch

QB Drake Maye. The No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft has been amazing and showed last week that he's a work in progress. Maye threw for 206 yards and a stunning touchdown at the end of regulation, evading defenders for nearly 12 seconds before hitting Rhamondre Stevenson in the end zone, who was scored to force overtime. The former North Carolina star ran for 95 yards. But he also threw two interceptions, including one in OT.

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Bears player to watch

QB Caleb Williams. The No. 1 overall draft pick has cooled off after a hot streak, with a passer rating of 65.4 and a completion rate of 49.2% (32 of 65) over the last two games. In the four games prior to that, he threw nine touchdowns and three interceptions.

Key match

Williams vs. Maye. Williams will face another top quarterback from this year's draft class for the second time in three games, after Jayden Daniels led Washington to a victory with a Hail Mary pass two weeks ago. While Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick, is leading a resurgence in Washington, the transition to the NFL hasn't been as smooth for Williams and Maye.

Other injuries

Patriots S Marte Mapu (neck) and DT Jaquelin Roy (neck) were injured against Tennessee. … Bears DT Andrew Billings was scheduled to undergo surgery this week for a torn pectoral muscle. He left in the second half of last weekend's game.

Notes on the series

The Bears had lost five straight and eight of nine times to the Patriots since their Super Bowl XX victory before the Week 7 win two years ago. Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, helping Chicago snap a three-game losing streak. The Bears then lost their final 10 games and finished a league-worst 3-14 in their first season under general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus. Two days after that win, they traded for DE Robert Quinn and the following week for LB Roquan Smith.

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Statistics and stuff

At 2-7, New England has the NFL's worst record, tied with six teams. … Maye's 95 yards rushing last week were the third-most for a QB in team history, but outside of their quarterback, the Patriots totaled 15 yards on 12 carries. … CB Marcus Jones made an impact on special teams, returning a punt 44 yards last week after running a back 62 yards in the previous game against the New York Jets. … Chicago wins against teams with an overall record of 10-24 – Tennessee (2-6), the Los Angeles Rams (4-4), Carolina (2-7) and Jacksonville (2-7). … Chicago is tied for fourth in the NFL with 15 takeaways. … The Bears gave up 213 yards rushing last week, the most they have allowed since Detroit ran for 265 yards on Jan. 1, 2023. … Rookie WR Rome Odunze caught five passes for 104 yards – his second 100-yard game. The No. 9 pick had 112 yards in a Week 3 loss at Indianapolis. … TE Cole Kmet wasn't targeted last week and had just one pass — a 14-yard reception — thrown his way in the previous game in Washington. The veteran has 303 yards and three touchdowns. … K Cairo Santos ranks third in the NFL with six field goals of 50 yards or more. …Rookie Tory Taylor has a gross punting average of 49.1 yards – the highest single-season mark in franchise history.

Fantasy tip

Against a shaky defense, Williams might have to put in a good performance. The 2022 Heisman Trophy winner is 3-0 with three touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 95.4 QB rating at Soldier Field. Williams threw for 304 yards and two scores against Carolina in Week 5 – the Bears' last game in Chicago.

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