Bears vs. Patriots: Causes for concern in Week 10

The Chicago Bears (4-4) will look to get back into the win column on Sunday as they return to Soldier Field to face the New England Patriots after four weeks away with a three game road trip and their bye week. The last time they were at Soldier Field, the Bears were 3-2 and in the middle of a three-game winning streak, now they’re 4-4 with more questions than answers surrounding this season.

After a gut-wrenching loss to the Washington Commanders on a final play Hail Mary, which was then followed by a thumping by the Arizona Cardinals last week. There could be no better time to get back on track with the rebuilding Patriots coming to Chicago, as the Bears try to silence the outside noise.

With a 2-7 record, the Patriots are still looking to find a long-term solution at quarterback since Tom Brady departed, and they hope to have found him this year with third overall pick, Drake Maye. Having only started four games so far this season, Maye has been brought along slowly with the organization who is led by first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.

There are a lot of firsts with the Patriots, but there are still reasons for the Bears to have concern in this matchup. The word dysfunction has been thrown out a lot about the 2024 Bears, and that makes it tough to see this as an easy game for them to win, as they look to get things back together. It won’t be as easy as it may have once looked on paper, and here are three reasons for concern as the Bears face the Patriots.

1. Drake Maye

For the third straight matchup, the Bears will face a dual-threat quarterback, although Maye doesn’t scratch the surface of Kyler Murray and Jayden Daniels. When the Patriots season first began, they opted to start veteran Jacoby Brissett which led them to an upset over the Cincinnati Bengals in the opening game of the season.

That momentum for Brissett and the Patriots didn’t last long as he struggled behind a horrible offensive line, which Maye has been able to work around more. In three of his first four starts, Maye has thrown for 200+ yards and has a total of six touchdowns to four interceptions.

With the Bears defense a bit banged up, it’ll be interesting to see if Maye can take advantage by extending plays with his legs, an issue the Bears have struggled to deal with in their past two losses.

2. Dysfunction

It’s been a word to describe the team, so it’s only right to have a feeling that the team’s dysfunction could be their downfall this week. In their two straight losses, the Bears came out of the game with headlines surrounding Tyrique Stevenson and DJ Moore who each had their own lowlight moments against Washington and Arizona.

Both players had mental lapses, where Stevenson found himself out of position during the Hail Mary loss to Washington, and Moore walked off the field during a play against Arizona in the first quarter. The team has to address these issues with players who are supposed to be the leaders, and the biggest concern would be if they’re too focused on the outside noise rather than the task at hand.

3. Offensive woes

To say that the Bears offense has been a major disappointment would be an understatement, they’ve been atrocious. Against lower competition they’ve stepped up to the plate, but even then, the offense is nowhere near smooth and consistent.

The biggest issue remains 10 total first quarter points in the entire 2024 season. The Bears can not find a way to get going early in games, and it doesn’t take rocket science to understand that letting opponents hang around, usually means tougher games.

A massive focus will be on the passing game, with the hopes that Caleb Williams can find a rhythm early. The offensive line allowed six sacks to the Cardinals last week, and Williams did not record a passing touchdown once again. The Patriots should present plenty of opportunities for the offense to put up big numbers, but with their most recent history, it’s hard to be optimistic about any part of the offense.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs. Patriots: Causes for concern in Week 10