One Drake Maye Mistake Loomed Large in Patriots’ Loss to the Bears

Very little separated the Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots during Chicago’s 30-24 victory Thursday night. The Bears had a 21-20 advantage in first downs, and a 405-380 edge in total yards.

The difference was how each team performed in the red zone. The Bears (5-2) scored on three of their four trips inside New England’s 20-yard line. Those scoring drives included D’Andre Swift’s 4-yard touchdown run, and Colston Loveland’s 12-yard TD pass from Caleb Williams.

New England (4-3) scored on one of its two trips to the red zone, and those two trips were a microcosm of Drake Maye’s season. He ran for a 7-yard TD to help New England make it a 10-7 contest early in the second quarter, but he was also intercepted in the end zone on a first-down play from the Chicago 15-yard line with 3:25 left in the first half. The Patriots trailed 13-7 at the time.

Maye threw an NFL-best 10 touchdown passes in the three games leading up to Thursday night’s matchup, but was intercepted a league-high six times in New England’s first three games.

“It definitely was a huge point in the game,” Maye said. ”Gosh. It’s those plays. I talk about it all the time, those plays that can swing the game – can impact a game. That was definitely one of them right there. I wish I definitely had that one back.”

You could certainly argue that D’Marco Jackson’s interception was the game’s most critical play. It was near the top for sure.

It was Maye’s third interception in the red zone this season, which is two more than any other NFL quarterback.

“All three phases made critical plays throughout the game,” Chicago head coach Ben Johnson said. “D-Jax interception in the end zone was huge for us. Negated some points.”

Outside of Maye’s interception, both quarterbacks were excellent. Williams, the top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, completed 22-of-33 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second 300-yard passing game since he returned to the field after missing three games with a hamstring injury. Williams passed for 305 yards in last week’s 31-23 victory over Atlanta.

“I think (Williams) did a pretty good job throughout the night,” Johnson said. “He had a number of explosive plays. … It took us a little bit to get the feel in the running game and so he was able to extend some of those drives by being fairly accurate in the passing game. Certainly 300 yards and a couple touchdowns is a good night.”

Maye, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, was 24-of-31 for 321 yards and two touchdowns, but may have trouble sleeping this weekend because of the interception.

“We hit the same exact play (as the interception) later in the game,” Maye said. “I like my chances in there (the red zone). It’s frustrating. I know that was a big turning point in the game. I let my team down.

“Those pressure situations. That’s one of the coolest things about this sport is there’s just three or four hours a week that you get a chance to prepare as much as you can for these moments, and sometimes you make them and sometimes you wish you had them back.”