Final: Bears 33, Patriots 14 - Patriots get steamrolled by Justin Fields, Chicago Bears at Gillette

On a night in which the Patriots switched signal callers in an effort to remedy a poor start from Mac Jones, New England’s true Achillies heel ended up being its defense — as the Patriots let Justin Fields and a dreadful Bears offense run all over them en route to a 33-14 defeat on Monday night at Gillette Stadium.

With the loss, the Patriots fall to 3-4 on the season. 

After Jones’ first three drives of the evening led to two punts and an interception, he was pulled in favor of Bailey Zappe — who subsequently orchestrated a pair of touchdown drives to push New England ahead of the visitors, 14-10, with 6:08 remaining in the first half.

But before Zappe Faver could fully envelop the Bears, Fields promptly steamrolled the Patriots the rest of the way — with Chicago outscoring New England, 23-0, for the remainder of the night. 

With New England unable to corral Fields during jet sweeps and designed QB runs, the Bears ultimately picked up 24 first downs (compared to just 12 for New England) and were 11-for-18 on third-down situations. 

To add injury to insult as the Bears continued their rout in the second half, David Andrews was dropped by an illegal blindside block from Mike Pennel following a Zappe interception — with the Patriots starting center exiting the game in the fourth quarter.

The Bears finished the game with 243 rushing yards, while the Patriots only mustered 70.

Zappe completed 14-of-22 passes for a touchdown and two interceptions — while Jones went 3-for-6 on pass attempts with an interception. 

Regular-season Game #7: Chicago Bears (2-4) at Patriots (3-3), 8:15 p.m.
Location: Gillette Stadium.
TV: ESPN/NBC-10. Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color), Lisa Salters (sideline).
Radio: 98.5-FM The SportsHub in Boston. **Bedard will be on the postgame show approximately one hour after the game.**
Online: Live Box | Bears media notes | Patriots media notes | Flipcard
BetOnline.ag Latest Line: Patriots -8.5, 40 o/u
AccuWeather forecast: Cool and rainy.

LAST WEEK

Commanders 12, Bears 7: Christian Holmes recovered a muffed punt by Velus Jones deep in Chicago territory to set up a 1-yard touchdown by Robinson midway through the fourth quarter, and the Washington Commanders stopped a four-game losing streak, hanging on to beat the Bears 12-7 on Thursday night.

Patriots 38, Browns 15: Patriots turned a 10-6 halftime lead into 24-6 game and a comfortable victory. QB Bailey Zappe made his second straight start and finished 24-of34 for 309 yards with two touchdown passes. He became the first Patriots rookie quarterback to win in his first home and first road game. Zappe had a passer rating of 118.4.

STATS

FOOTBALLOUTSIDERS.COM BREAKDOWN

ROSTER MOVES

• Patriots promoted LB Jamie Collins from the practice squad.

INJURY REPORT

PREGAME READING/LISTENING

NFL Notebook: Five thoughts through Week 7, including Patriots' place in AFC, division road ahead
Bedard: Patriots' passing offense has some tough sledding ahead vs. Bears defense
Completed Q&A: Bedard on Jones/Zappe, Patriots-Bears, NFL 10.22.22
Mac Jones speaks, briefly - 'Definitely moving better, feel pretty good'
.@athleticgreens Podcast & Video: Bedard Patriots Pod - Mac seems back, Pats & the AFC East
Bedard: How the Patriots' offensive operation used the same play and Jakobi Meyers to get the Browns twice
Bears Week Patriots Notebook: Where do things stand at quarterback?
Bedard's Breakdown: After 2nd-straight win, does the film show Bailey Zappe should be Patriots' starter?

HOW THE PATRIOTS WIN & BEDARD'S GAME PICK