Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, Luther Burden III went for 130 yards and a score, and Cairo Santos hit a career-long 58-yard field goal with 1:34 left as the Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday Night Football.
Drake Maye threw for 321 yards and two scores for New England, but his second-quarter interception in the end zone took points off the board in a game decided by less than a touchdown.
So Much for the Check-Down Talk
Williams completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards in Atlanta on Sunday. That’s 83 percent in his first game back from a hamstring injury, and somehow much of the reaction was about whether he was just dinking and dunking his way down the field.
Thursday should put that to rest. Williams went 22-of-33 for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and eight of those completions went for 20 or more yards, his most this season. He kept attacking New England’s depleted secondary and still didn’t turn the ball over. He’s now thrown for 300 yards in back-to-back games, once by picking a defense apart underneath and once by consistently finding receivers in space for chunk plays.
He’s also roughly 1,500 yards from becoming the seventh quarterback in Bears history to reach 10,000 career passing yards.
Oct 22, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) throws agaisnt New England Patriots linebacker Elijah Ponder (91) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn ImagesLuther Burden III Did It All Before Halftime
All four of Burden’s catches came in the first half.
His first big play came in the opening quarter, when the Patriots’ zone left the middle of the field open. Burden caught it there and kept running, and more than two-thirds of the 58-yard gain came after the catch. D’Andre Swift, who finished with 78 rushing yards, scored on a short run one play later.
Later in the half, the Bears threw him what was basically a long handoff a few yards behind the line. His blockers got out in front, Burden found a seam, and he ran for a 24-yard touchdown.
It was his first 100-yard game this season and the third of his career. Counting his eight catches for 95 yards in Atlanta, he has 12 grabs for 225 yards since Williams returned.
Colston Loveland added seven catches for 69 yards and a 12-yard touchdown in the second half. The Patriots were without three cornerbacks (Carlton Davis, Karon Prunty, and Channing Canada), and the Bears spent the night going after their replacements.
Oct 22, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III (10) runs for a touchdown against the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn ImagesA Bad Way to End the Half
The Bears gave New England a gift right before halftime. With three seconds left, Maye threw a screen pass to Rhamondre Stevenson that should have gained a few yards before both teams headed to the locker room. Stevenson took it 48 yards for a touchdown instead.
The defense did hold up when it mattered most. After Santos’ kick, the Patriots needed a touchdown and couldn’t get one.
Where This Leaves the Bears
New England was short-handed, with three corners and both starting guards out. The Bears spent three weeks without Williams earlier this season and still went 2-1. At 5-2, with a win over last season’s AFC champions, they belong in the conversation with the league’s best teams.
The last time these two met, in 2024, the Patriots sacked Williams nine times and won 19-3. Shane Waldron was fired two days later, and Matt Eberflus didn’t last much past Thanksgiving. Both franchises started over that winter. The Bears interviewed Mike Vrabel before he went back to New England, and the Patriots asked to talk to Ben Johnson before he took the Chicago job.
New England got to the Super Bowl first, which made it the team to measure against. The Bears team that showed up Thursday looked nothing like the 2024 version, and it measured up just fine.
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