Williams, Maye Lead Bears-Patriots QB Showdown

Caleb Williams completed 30 of 36 passes for 305 yards in the Chicago Bears’ 31-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. On Thursday night, he faces New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in their second NFL matchup. Both quarterbacks from the 2024 draft class could shape the Week 7 game.

Quarterbacks Under Pressure

Their first meeting came in Week 10 of 2024. Chicago entered 4-4 and favored by 6 points at home in Soldier Field, but New England won 19-3. Williams completed 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards, took nine sacks and posted a 63.2 passer rating. TruMedia put his -0.42 expected points added per dropback at the lowest mark of his 37 regular-season starts.

Chicago managed one field goal across 11 possessions. The team had more three-and-outs than points. The loss became the third in a skid that eventually reached 10 straight games. Two days later, the Bears fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

It was Maye’s fifth career start and fourth complete game. He made several impressive throws and began to command the locker room, including after he addressed the team following a sloppy practice. Since then, Maye has had a new coach and coordinator, and his play this season has been MVP-caliber.

Different Routes to the Field

Maye’s deep passing has stood out. Last season, he was the league’s most effective deep-ball passer, even without an impressive group of receivers. After impatience hurt him early this season, he has lately returned to beating teams deep. Pro Football Focus credited him with 13 big-time throws on attempts of 20 or more yards this season, the most by any quarterback.

Scrambling has helped Maye keep the offense on schedule while injuries have hit the wide receiver group. First downs have followed 41.2% of his scrambles, fourth among 13 quarterbacks with at least 20 rushes.

As a rookie, Maye threw 10 interceptions in 12 starts. He then threw six in his first three games this season as he tried to push the ball downfield against teams using two deep safeties to limit big plays. Since then, he’s thrown one interception in three games. In the offseason, the Patriots practiced unscripted drives, with Maye calling each offensive play to sharpen his reads before the snap and help him change plays when needed.

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

Protection, Pressure and Team Choices

Former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who has seven Super Bowl rings, provided color commentary for Fox during Williams’ win over Atlanta. Brady said it might have been 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 get more precise and efficient in Johnson’s system, relying more on his pass-catchers. He gave the group the acronym B.I.W., meaning “Best in the world.” Williams said, “I'm gonna keep putting the ball up in the air; you keep making catches. And from there, we'll keep growing.”

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

The Bears rank 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. New England’s sack leader this season is Elijah Ponder. The Bears have also pointed to the Patriots’ run defense and the back-end play of Christian Gonzalez and Kevin Byard.

Bears coach Johnson said the Patriots have strong fundamentals, shed blocks with purpose and tackle well. “And then schematically,” Johnson added, “they try to take away what you do best. That's the challenge.”