CHICAGO - It was there for the taking.
Despite having the deck stacked against them - starting two guards who basically just got here, a short week, on the road against a good football team - the Patriots should - and did - feel like they let one slip away.
“100%, man,” Milton Williams said. “No, we was right there. We was right there. I feel like we let them off the hook…”
“Yeah, man,” Kevin Byard agreed. “A tough loss for sure.”
What irked the Patriots was that they were complicit in their demise. Missed tackles, far too many in this game, one big blown coverage (the 58-yarder to Luther Burden), penalties at inopportune times, and, of course, Drake Maye making his one glaring mistake: that red zone interception. The third-year pro couldn’t hide his self-disdain, grimacing when asked if he wanted that throw back.
“It definitely was a huge point in the game,” Maye said, before putting his hand to his face. “Gosh. Those plays, I talk about all the time, those plays that can swing the game. Can impact the game. That one was definitely one right there. I wish I definitely had that one back.
“We got two chances with the ball to go score and take the lead. We gotta go do our part. We can’t have penalties and me not operating at a high level to kind of move the chains and get going, especially after the missed field goal. That was a bad three-and-out.”
Maye, otherwise, handled an inordinate amount of pressure with incredible poise (SumerSports had it at 44%, though my eyes felt like it was higher than that). The plan wasn't to rely solely on their quarterback to navigate a diabolical pressure package from Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, but that’s how the game played out.
“I thought he really competed,” Mike Vrabel said. “Whether that was running around, or scrambling or finding good places to go with the football, (he) gave us a chance. I know he’d like to have that one back. He’ll learn from it like he always does. I’m glad he’s ours.”
The Pats were far too one-dimensional. Their trio of running backs combined for just 44 yards on 13 carries. There wasn't nearly enough movement up front, and that didn’t fall solely on Matt Pryor and Walter Rouse, who started his first-ever game. Vrabel stressed all week the need to possess the ball, not only to help Maye but also to keep their defense off the field against a dialed-in play-caller, Ben Johnson.
“We didn’t run the ball well enough,” Vrabel said. “I thought we’d be able to run it better… it just didn’t happen tonight.”
Defensively, the Pats were gouged for eight passing plays of 20 or more yards. That included a borderline back-breaking third-and-nine conversion from Caleb Williams to Rome Odunze. That was a wow throw - holy velocity, Batman - and an equally impressive catch.
“Caleb is an amazing quarterback,” said an obviously sick Christian Gonzalez. “That play to Rome, I mean, the ball went maybe a millimeter above KB's finger. If it was a little bit lower, KB would have tipped it. And, I mean, who knows what would have happened. So, I mean, that's just one you tip your hat.”
“That third and long, the dig route, I want to be able to