The Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday Night Football, and the night belonged to Caleb Williams. The second-year quarterback threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns on Oct. 22, getting the better of fellow 2024 first-rounder Drake Maye in a quarterback duel that lived up to its billing.
Caleb Williams, playing his second game back from a Week 2 hamstring injury, looked comfortable and sharp across a five-day span. The two young quarterbacks combined for more than 600 passing yards and five total touchdowns, a fitting showdown between the No. 1 and No. 3 picks of the 2024 draft.
Caleb Williams steadies the Bears offense
Caleb Williams spread the ball around and kept the Bears on schedule all night. Chicago’s offense rarely stalled for long, and Williams’ timing with his receivers showed on nearly every series. Caleb Williams’ two touchdown passes kept the Bears in front whenever New England pushed back.
For Caleb Williams, the performance confirmed that his return from injury is on track. He showed no signs of the hamstring issue that cost him time in September, moving well in the pocket and delivering accurate throws downfield. It was his second start in five days since coming back, and he looked better than he did the week before.
Drake Maye keeps the Patriots close
Maye did his part to make it a game. The Patriots quarterback threw for 321 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing score, but one mistake proved costly. Maye threw an interception on a poor read that cost New England points in a contest where every possession mattered.
The turnover extended a frustrating trend. Maye, the 2025 runner-up for league MVP, turned the ball over nine times during New England’s 2-2 start before posting clean sheets in Weeks 5 and 6. Thursday’s pick was his first in three weeks, and it came at the worst possible moment.
New England’s makeshift offensive line held up reasonably well in front of him. Despite injuries forcing patchwork lineups, Maye was sacked just twice and hit six times. The ground game offered little help, though: the Patriots rushed for a season-low 70 yards, with Maye’s 26 yards leading the team.
Caleb Williams answers after a trick play and a milestone kick
The Patriots nearly stole momentum before halftime. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels dialed up a 48-yard catch-and-run touchdown for running back Rhamondre Stevenson to end the first half, catching a Chicago defense that appeared braced for a Hail Mary instead.
Chicago answered after the break, and Caleb Williams kept the offense rolling. The kicking game provided the strangest sequence of the night. Bears kicker Cairo Santos hit the right upright on a 53-yard attempt with under eight minutes to play, a doink that gave New England a lifeline. Then, in the final 94 seconds, Santos lined up from 58 yards and drilled it, a personal best for the 13th-year veteran that effectively sealed the win.
The Bears also lost a key player late. Tight end Cole Kmet, who had missed only one game in his seven-year career, was carted off with an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter. “We will know more tomorrow, but I don’t think it looked very good,” Bears coach Ben Johnson said after the game.
Caleb Williams’ best work came when the game tightened. After the Patriots clawed back, he answered with the drives that mattered most, and his command of the offense in the closing minutes showed why Chicago took him first overall.
A night that honored Mike Ditka
Before kickoff, the Bears honored the most famous coach in franchise history. Mike Ditka, who died Oct. 9, was remembered with a moment of silence at Soldier Field. The stands filled with tributes to the man who coached Chicago to its only Super Bowl title, a 46-10 rout of these same Patriots in Super Bowl 20 four decades ago.
The connection ran deeper for some. Patriots guard Joe Thuney, the league’s inaugural Protector of the Year in 2025, has never scored a touchdown in his 11 NFL seasons, and Johnson tried to set him up Thursday with what was flagged as an illegal forward handoff to a lineman. The poor execution ended any shot at glory for Thuney on this night.
Meanwhile, Patriots receiver A.J. Brown managed three catches for 48 yards in his second game back from an ankle injury, clearly not enough on a night New England needed its top targets.
Thursday’s game was far closer than Super Bowl 20. But with Caleb Williams playing the way he did, the Bears left with a win that honored the night’s occasion.