NFL Draft Rankings Put Williams and Maye in Spotlight

The NFL Draft put Caleb Williams first and Drake Maye two picks later; now the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots meet in prime time, with the spotlight on those two quarterbacks. Six quarterbacks went in the first 12 picks. The league’s ranking machine has another matchup to sell, but the players’ performances will decide what happens on the field.

The Draft’s Order, the Game’s Stakes

Thursday night’s game marks the second NFL meeting between Williams and Maye. Their first came in Week 10 of 2024, when the Bears entered 4-4 and were 6-point home favorites against New England at Soldier Field. The Patriots won 19-3.

Williams completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards, took nine sacks and posted a 63.2 passer rating. His minus-0.42 expected points added per dropback, according to TruMedia, remains his lowest in 37 regular-season starts. Chicago managed one field goal on 11 possessions, with more three-and-outs than points. The Bears lost for the third straight time, starting a skid that eventually reached 10 games; two days later, the team fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

That’s the price of a bad performance in a system where results travel quickly up the chain. The quarterback takes the hits, the offense stalls, and a coordinator loses his job. The numbers don’t leave much room to hide.

Maye’s Adjustments, Williams’ New Approach

The first matchup was Maye’s fifth career start and fourth complete game. He made some impressive throws and began to command the locker room, including after he gave the team a speech following a sloppy practice. He now has a new coach and coordinator, and the article describes his play as MVP-caliber.

Maye’s deep passing remains a strength. Last season, he was the league’s most effective deep-ball passer, despite lacking an impressive group of receivers. A lack of patience hurt him early this season, but he has recently returned to beating teams deep. Pro Football Focus credited him with 13 big-time throws on attempts of 20-plus yards this season, more than any quarterback.

Maye’s scrambling has helped keep the offense on schedule amid injuries at wide receiver. A first down has followed 41.2% of his scrambles, fourth among 13 quarterbacks with at least 20 rushes. His interceptions also tell a story of adjustment: he threw six in his first three games this season while pushing the ball downfield against teams using two deep safeties, then threw one in the three games since. The Patriots spent part of the offseason practicing unscripted drives, with Maye calling each offensive play to improve his reads before the snap and his ability to change plays.

Williams completed 60% of his passes through his first two seasons. In spring and summer, the Bears coaching staff emphasized a point-guard mentality: see the field, diagnose defenses and distribute the ball. Coach Ben Johnson has kept pursuing a 70% completion rate. As Week 7 began, Williams’ 72.5% mark led the league among quarterbacks with at least 90 attempts, though he’d played only three games.

The Work Is in the Details

Williams completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards in Chicago’s 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. Tom Brady, a legendary Patriots quarterback with seven Super Bowl rings, provided color commentary for Fox and called it perhaps the sharpest performance of Williams’ career. Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor said, “It just came together pretty well for him in terms of putting the ball in play and putting the ball where our guys were able to do something with it.”

Williams has worked to become more precise and efficient in Johnson’s system, and more reliant on his pass-catchers. He gave that group the acronym B.I.W., meaning “Best in the world.” “I'm gonna keep putting the ball up in the air; you keep making catches. And from there, we'll keep growing,” he said.

The offensive line could shape the Patriots’ side of the contest. New England is expected to start its fourth- and fifth-string guards and might be without starting right tackle Morgan Moses. Will Campbell, the Patriots’ first-round pick from last year, could be their most experienced offensive lineman for Thursday’s game. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said, “Their D-line is excellent.”

Chicago ranks sixth in the NFL in pressure rate, at 39.5% of dropbacks, and fifth in sacks, with 17. Cornerback Kyler Gordon returned from injury and recorded three sacks in his first game of the season. Bears coach Johnson said New England has strong fundamentals, sheds blocks with purpose and tackles well. “And then schematically,” Johnson added, “they try to take away what you do best. That's the challenge.”