The last time the Chicago Bears faced the New England Patriots, Caleb Williams was sacked nine times.
Nine. In a 19-3 loss that might not have been the worst game of the Matt Eberflus era, but was probably the most honest one. Chicago’s offense offered nothing. Former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fired two days later. Eberflus lasted until the Thanksgiving disaster in Detroit, a game Ben Johnson watched from the sideline while working as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. Funny how that works out.
Fun bit of trivia: those 2024 Bears were 4-2 at one point, too. Then they lost 10 straight.
Both the Bears and Patriots started over that winter despite drafting Williams and Drake Maye first and third overall the previous spring. New England moved on from longtime Bill Belichick assistant coach (and player) Jerod Mayo after one season. The Bears interviewed Mike Vrabel. The Patriots requested permission to interview Johnson. Vrabel went back to New England, Johnson came to Chicago, and we all spent a month arguing about whether an offensive nerd could be a leader of men.
Since then, the Bears won the NFC North and reached the divisional round in Johnson’s first year. The Patriots went to the Super Bowl in Vrabel’s first season. Now both teams are 4-2, and they meet on Thursday Night Football, and one of them has already been where the other wants to go.
© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesYes, It’s Caleb Williams vs. Drake Maye
I tried not to make this about the quarterbacks, but I couldn’t.
As Bears fans, we’ve had good quarterbacks here and there. Jay Cutler was good. Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields had early hype moments. But this is different. Williams is the guy we’ve been waiting for, forever.
Look at Sunday in Atlanta. Williams hadn’t played since injuring his hamstring in Week 2. Rust would have been understandable. Instead, he completed his first 12 passes and finished 30-of-36 for 305 yards and a touchdown in a 31-23 win, which earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week. That touchdown also made him the third quarterback in NFL history to throw 50 touchdown passes with 15 interceptions or fewer. The other two names are Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes, a pair of former league MVPs.
The accuracy is the newer development. Williams is completing more than 70 percent of his passes this season, the first time he’s done that in his career. That’s the Year 3 jump you hope to see from a franchise quarterback, and it’s a big reason the offense looks different.
The Minnesota game is the exception for Williams and the Bears offense this season with him in the lineup. Williams played most of that game, and the offense couldn’t do anything against Brian Flores’ defense on a rainy day at Soldier Field. He got hurt scrambling on first-and-goal in the fourth quarter with the Bears down 6-3, and the drive ended on a blocked field goal. A healthy Williams probably finds a way to win that one. But even if he had, it wouldn’t have been a pretty one.
His other two games were a different story: 59 points in Carolina and 31 in Atlanta.
Oct 18, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) rolls out to throw the ball during the first quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesHere’s the stat that tells you how long Bears fans have been waiting. Williams is about 1,800 yards from becoming just the seventh quarterback in franchise history to reach 10,000 passing yards. Seven, for a franchise that’s been around since 1920.
Maye deserves his credit, too. He nearly won MVP last season and took the Patriots to the Super Bowl, where Seattle beat them. He started this year rough, throwing three interceptions as New England blew a 10-0 lead to the Seahawks in the opener. Since then, he’s thrown three or more touchdowns in three straight games, and the Patriots have won all three.
At the end of the day, Maye has the Super Bowl trip that Williams wants. But as we know, Williams doesn’t just want the trip; he wants the trophy—multiple trophies.
The Nerd Turned Out Just Fine
Johnson has been both of the things people questioned. He’s the play-caller, and the locker room is clearly his. When Williams went down, Johnson had to navigate three weeks with two different backup quarterbacks, and he led the Bears to a 2-1 record.
Johnson spent all three seasons as Detroit’s play-caller with Jared Goff starting every game. He had never needed to win with a backup quarterback. This year, after Williams went down against the Vikings, he had to do it immediately. He beat the Eagles on Monday Night Football with Case Keenum, then beat the Jets with Tyson Bagent. The Green Bay game was ugly (31-7, with Bagent benched in the third quarter), but the season didn’t fall apart. A 2024 version of this team would have folded. This one stayed afloat.
Now look at where Johnson’s offense ranks: first in rushing yards per game, first in time of possession, first in drives lasting 5-plus minutes, first in first downs, first in total offensive plays, second in drives of 10 or more plays, fifth in total yards. Remember, Keenum and Bagent were the quarterbacks for half of those games.
That’s the answer to the leader-of-men argument. The system works with anyone, but it gets a lot better with Williams back. The Bears take the ball and keep it, a long way from that nine-sack afternoon.
Sep 28, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks on during the first half against the Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn ImagesTwo Years Later
The last time these teams met, the Patriots spent the afternoon in Williams’ face. This time, New England’s offensive line is the group in trouble. The Patriots lost three offensive linemen in Sunday’s win over the Jets and have a short week to sort it out; at minimum, they’ll be without their two starting guards. Meanwhile, Dennis Allen just blitzed on half of Atlanta’s snaps with Kyler Gordon back in the lineup. If someone gets sacked nine times Thursday night, it probably won’t be Williams.
That’s the part of this matchup I keep coming back to. Almost everything about the 2024 game has turned around. The Bears were the team without answers that day. Their offensive coordinator lost his job two days later, and their head coach followed a few weeks after that. The quarterback they were supposed to build around looked overwhelmed, and the guy who would eventually fix the offense was still calling plays in Detroit.
Now the Bears control the clock and wear defenses down. Williams is coming off a 30-of-36 game in his first start back. Johnson has a division title, a playoff win, and a record of keeping the season on track with a backup quarterback.
The Patriots are still the measuring stick, though, and for good reason. They made the jump first. Maye is on a hot streak, and Vrabel’s team has won three straight. A win Thursday would put the Bears in the same conversation New England has been part of since last winter. A loss wouldn’t knock them out of anything, but it would tell us the gap hasn’t closed yet.
Two years ago, this game told us exactly what the Bears were. Thursday night, we find out what they are now.
Hence then, the article about caleb williams drake maye and a bears rematch two years in the making was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and a Bears Rematch Two Years in the Making )
Also on site :