For the third straight game, the Bears faced a team that has been on a rebuilding program under a new coach since Chicago began a rebuild under coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles.

The first two games of that stretch hardly showed that the Bears’ rebuild was going as well as Washington and Arizona’s.

The New England Patriots have transferred nine starters since last season, and a loss in 2022 bears little resemblance to the most impressive of Eberflus’ Bears, who won just three that season.

The most obvious difference is Bill Belichick’s departure and former Belichick assistant and Patriots player Jerod Mayo taking over the team.

They haven’t strayed too far from the “Patriot way” to rebuild, but there’s one key component they need to get right, and that’s the quarterback. That’s what set their Super Bowl-winning seasons apart from other teams.

Quarterback Drake Maye was the third overall pick in the draft, and despite having a slightly higher passer rating (85.1) than Bears QB Caleb Williams (83.0), he started only half of the games Williams played in. Maye also adds to the threats the Bears have faced in the last three games with Trevor Lawrence, Jayden Daniels and Kyler Murray.

“Yeah, we’ve had our work cut out for us the last few weeks,” linebacker TJ Edwards said. he said. “This guy is very talented. He can do things with his legs and also very strong arms, so we’re excited.

“We’re going to go out there and do our best and challenge these guys, go make plays and get back to what we did to start the season.”

The Patriots looked better last week than they had in several previous efforts in a road game they nearly won, losing to the Titans in overtime.

Here are the Patriots who could pose the biggest threat to the Bears.

1. QB Drake Maye

There’s no doubt that Maye has a strong arm. He may have the strongest arm in the draft this year. But after their trouble stopping the run, it’s his legs that the Bears should really worry about. Maye rushed for 95 yards last week and 46 yards the game before; this was the most yards the Patriots had received from a QB in consecutive games. At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, he is a threat to break tackles and run around tacklers. The Bears didn’t handle the pass/run threat well from Washington’s Jayden Daniels, and they didn’t need to do so against Arizona because they couldn’t get Kyler Murray to work much last week. Maye’s accuracy hasn’t been an issue so far, as it often is for rookies. He completed 65.6%, but when facing openings he checks in coverage for 6.2 yards, and it’s easier to be accurate then.

2. TE Hunter Henry

The Bears couldn’t stop Zach Ertz two weeks ago, and they also gave up a key offensive TD to Trey McBride last week while holding him to three catches and 35 yards, and all of his catches were important. Henry always has a knack for finding open spots, but his real strength compared to other tight spots is making bigger gains on his catches. He has a career 11.6 yard average. His catch/target ratio is 73.6%, the best of his career.

3. RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson has thrown for more touchdowns this season than in any of his four Patriots seasons as they recommitted to gaining yards on the ground. This can’t be good news for those struggling with the Bears’ run defense. Stevenson is a tough 6-foot-1, 227-pound downhill runner who looks a lot like Arizona’s James Conner. He’s also a threat, having caught 23 passes for just 99 yards so far. He averages 3.8 yards per rush and has 438 rushing yards.

4. RB Antonio Gibson

Gibson throws a quick 1-2 punch at the Bears as they face Jacksonville. At 6-foot-1, 228 yards, he could be as difficult to handle as Stevenson if he gains momentum, and he’s always been a threat to go the distance with his 4.39-second 40-yard dash. Gibson is averaging 4.1 yards per carry on 57 attempts as a backup, but he’s as much of a threat to get the yardage as Emari Demercado was last week, and it’s clear the Bears are having trouble stopping the Cardinals back.

5. PR Marcus Jones

Patriots special teams could pose a real threat given kicker Joey Slye has range of up to 63 yards, but their biggest threat is punt returns. Jones has a long of 62 yards, averaging 15.6 yards on 17 returns. Jones led the NFL in return yardage as a rookie in 2022, and this year he’s just 96 yards shy of that season’s total. Jones is a 5-8, 188-pound cornerback who is an All-Pro as a returner in 2022.

6. CB Jonathan Jones

He was one of the best cornerbacks a few years ago and moved outside but wasn’t as effective. Still, he’s the most consistent performer against the pass, despite posting a 124.3 passer rating when targeted and two touchdown passes allowed, per Stathead/Pro Football Reference. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound DB has been with the Patriots since 2018 and has only two passer ratings above 94.0. There are four pass breakups.

7. DE Keion White

The 6-foot-1, 285-pound second-year forward has stepped up in the last two games after producing just one sack in his first 23 games. He has four sacks in the last two games and uses a combination of speed and power to put pressure. He already has five (18) more pressures than he had during his rookie year in 2023.

8. Edge Anfernee Jennings

The 2020 third-round pick out of Alabama is 6-3, 255 and is adept at protecting the edge as a run defender, despite having lower passing grades. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the seventh-best run defender among forwards. He has only half a sack this season and three in his four-year career, but has made 44 tackles.

Twitter: BearsOnSI