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Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots: Who Won and Why
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Chicago Bears vs. New England Patriots: Who Won and Why

There are plenty of media people and fans calling Sunday’s game against New England a must-win situation for the Bears.

It’s too early for a must-win match.

However, the must-win situation probably came and went for the Bears with the loss to the Commanders. Last week’s defeat was just to add insult.

But yeah, this is a must-win situation.

Considering the difficulty of their schedule from now on, the Bears needed to finish their first nine games by a score of 7-2 or 6-3 to have a chance at the playoffs. They can’t do this now. According to Tankahon.com, this is the toughest schedule remaining in the NFL based on opponent winning percentage (.548). Therefore, their efforts may be pointless.

On the other hand, just because the Bears don’t get to 7-2 or 6-3 doesn’t mean the season is over, and it’s always possible they can improve enough to eliminate one or more of the NFC North powers. I will meet you in the coming weeks. This could also happen in Chicago, considering they play better at home.

What makes this game a truly must-win situation is that they are at home, facing the Green Bay Packers next week, and a history of 10 straight losses to the Cheeseheads follows them. If they don’t get things done this week, a two-game losing streak could easily turn into a four-game losing streak. The four-game losing streak in Year 3 of the rebuild is a real problem for everyone on the coaching staff, if not the Bears’ front office.

This week, many people have speculated about Matt Eberflus’ job status.

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What can be said for sure is that if they lose to the New England Patriots at home, Eberflus will be viewed with harsh scrutiny by everyone in the future.

The Bears (4-4) face the Patriots (2-7) in a noon game at Soldier Field Sunday, here’s who wins and why.

Bears Pass vs Patriots Pass Defense

Caleb Williams is not the Caleb Williams who has appeared at home and away in the last two games. His home passer rating is 105.1 and his completion rate is 67.3%. When moving freely, as in the home game against the Rams, the Panthers, and even in London against the Jaguars, all receivers are involved and no one leaves the field during plays. New England’s pass defense is poor, though not the worst. They rank 23rd in passer rating and 22nd in overall pass defense, but they can’t put much pressure on passers. They rank 17th in blitz percentage at 24.5%, according to Stathead/Pro Football Recurrence, but their return is that they rank 28th in getting pressure on QBs on 18.4% of their pass attempts. When you talk about Yannick Ngakoue as the answer to your edge rushing problems, then you really have problems. Edge Bears

Rushing Bears vs. Patriots Run Defense

The Patriots are challenging teams to run with them as they rank just 26th in stopping the run and have given up 159 yards on the ground in their last seven games, allowing at least 112 yards on the ground in any of those seven games. . The Bears’ offense can click when D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson are allowed to step up. The only exception was the game against Washington, where they rushed for 202 yards with rushing help from Williams and still lost. The Patriots can’t give up the run unless they’re desperately out of it, having given up more than 20 feet on either side of the line of scrimmage. Additionally, losing safety Kyle Dugger to injury is a blow to the Patriots’ pass defense as well as their run defense. He plays the run like a linebacker. Edge Bears

Bears Pass Defense vs. Patriots Pass

Montez Sweat returned to pass the ball, while Kyler Gordon returned to defend the slot and wreak havoc. The Bears rank in the top 3 in pass defense and eighth in total yards allowed. Drake Maye is the difference maker for the Patriots as they average just 165.6 yards passing without him and 196.7 yards with him, but the receiving corps is comprised of inexperienced or underachieving receivers outside of tight end Hunter Henry. Regardless of who the Patriots QB is, they have had six plays in nine games despite passing for 149 yards. Edge Bears

Bears Running Defense vs. Patriots running

Even with Andrew Billings healthy, the Bears have struggled to provide consistency in run defense this year. They found it difficult to replace Justin Jones’ tackles for a loss and no gain last year. Getting Sweat and Gordon back helps run defenses a lot, but the key cog has always been Billings and he’s done for this year. The Patriots aren’t afraid to run more as they are the 12th most shooting team in the league despite being way behind. Rhamondre Stevenson is averaging just 3.8 yards per game but his yards are becoming increasingly difficult, and Antonio Gibson is a tough runner but is always a threat going all the way with his 4.3-second speed. The biggest threat may be Maye at RPO or as a mixer. Fringe Patriots

Special Teams

Joey Slye is one of the modern kickers with big legs, and his 15-for-12 performance with the Patriots this year included a 63-yard field goal. The weather is turning and may find progress a little more difficult. However, Cairo has an advantage over Santos. Bryce Baringer is tied for Bears punter Tory Taylor this season with 21 punts inside 20 and a 50.1 yard average. New England’s Marcus Jones is a big return threat with 15.6 yards per punt return, which the Bears lack. Fringe Patriots

coaching

Although Matt Eberflus’ teams languished on the road, they had a nine-game winning streak at home and played a different style of ball at Soldier Field. There were no major strategic mistakes on our home field, such as not using timeouts or not keeping players on the field. They even won the opening even though they had no business winning. Jerod Mayo was an interesting pick for a team trying to move past Bill Belichick. His experience is with the Belichick regime. They should have moved away from this outdated style. No Edge

intangible assets

The infield should be a huge help, but you wonder if it could work the other way, too, because such poor starting habits on offense could still lead to an early deficit, and Bears fans can boo their own team better than anyone else, but maybe Eagles and Jets fans. However, the stark difference in their passing game away from home is enough to make this a real advantage for the Bears. Edge Bears

Final Score: Bears 27, Patriots 13

If there’s one team that needs a home game against the NFL punching bag, it’s the Bears. It would be easy to see them winning just one more game this season after that, so Bears fans better enjoy it.

Twitter: BearsOnSI