Bears vs. Patriots Prediction: Battle of young quarterbacks |
After another ugly road loss by the Chicago Bears, it's time for them to return to Soldier Field as they look to get back on track. Playing at home has been good for the Bears over the past few seasons, as all of their wins have come at home this season.
This week, it's another matchup of two of the top three draft picks, as Caleb Williams faces Drake Maye and the New England Patriots. Leading into the NFL draft, Williams was the consensus No. 1 pick among all the NFL experts. Maye was the one guy who they felt had a high enough upside to possibly unseat Williams in the top spot. That never transpired, and the Bears took Williams, allowing the Patriots to take Maye at No. 3. This is one of those games that has the potential to be one of the better games of the weekend. You could have a situation where both quarterbacks try to one-up the other. That could lead to plenty of mistakes when you look at how strong these defenses are, as this game could come down to who makes the fewer mistakes. Here are three things to look for in Week 10.
We are getting to that point in the season where every win is big, especially for a Bears team that is still in playoff contention but is starting to lose ground. With the rest of the division continuing to rack up wins, the Bears need every win they can get to keep pace, and that hasn't come easy for them lately. While every win is important, this is what you would call a must-win game for the Bears, as a loss to the Patriots could ultimately send their season into an even bigger tailspin than it is currently in. When you looked at the Bears' schedule and broke down their games, weeks 5-11 were especially crucial, as that was the easy part of their schedule where you felt they could go 5-2, 6-1, or even 7-0. Well, here we are, and the team is sitting at 2-3 over that current stretch and is about to enter the toughest part of their schedule, which has them with the hardest ranked schedule from week 12 on. A big reason for that is that six of their final eight games come from within their own division, as things are going to get tough for this team in a hurry.
Even though the Bears are coming off two rough road losses, there is still hope that they can turn things around when they return home this week. Playing at Soldier Field has been good for the Bears, as they are unbeaten at home this season. Going a bit further than that, the Bears have the longest active winning streak at home in the NFL. They have won their last 10 home games dating back to last season. That is the definition of home cooking and should be the goal for every season. Whenever a team has hopes to make the postseason, you tend to point to the home games to see why or why they didn't make it. Should you take care of your home games by going undefeated or 6-2 and better, there is a good chance you make the playoffs if you play at or close to .500 on the road. The Bears have done their part by winning their games at home but haven't been able to find ways to win on the road. They need to keep that trend going this week to get back above .500 and continue to grind through their up-and-down season.
It's rare that you have the top two teams in the draft face off during their rookie season. It's even rarer to have the top QB face off against the No. 2 and the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft in just three weeks. That will happen this week as Williams and Maye face each other for the first time in their career. Granted, this is still a team game. The focus will be on both rookies, and you can see why. When you break down the Jayden Daniels and Williams matchup from two weeks ago, Daniels played very well, compared to Williams, who played average at best. This has a similar feel. Williams is coming off another rough showing last week, and his accuracy continues to struggle, while Maye was responsible for 316 of his team's 319 yards at one point in the game. That is the definition of a dual-threat quarterback, and it will be fun to watch two of the game's young signal-callers go at it for the first of what could be plenty of exciting games over the next decade or more.
There is no sugarcoating this one for the Chicago Bears. This is as much of a must-win as a must-win can be if the Bears want any hopes of making the postseason. The Bears are the better team on paper, as they have a more talented roster with playmakers all over the field. The biggest difference could be the coaching. Despite the Patriots sitting at 2-6, Jarrod Mayo is the better coach between the two. His team has remained competitive in most of its losses despite not having much talent around Maye. This is one of those games that will come down to the defense, as the Bears and Patriots have two of the better defenses in the game. If the Bears were clicking and playing at the level many thought they would play this season, this would be a game they should win by 10-14 points. Given what we have seen from both sides, that won't be the case, as this will be a sloppy game, but the Bears will find a way to get the job done 20-15.A must-win for the Bears
Keep the home cooking rolling
Which QB is better?
Prediction: Bears win 20-15
