Maye vs. Caleb, Round 2: The Patriots Walk Into Soldier Field Tonight Hot, and Hunting a Fourth Straight

Thursday night. Soldier Field. Prime Video. Two 4-2 teams, two quarterbacks from the same 2024 draft class, and a Patriots team that has quietly turned into the hottest thing in the AFC East. Kickoff is 8:15 p.m. Eastern.

Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in that 2024 draft, against Caleb Williams, the No. 1. They've known each other since high school, according to NFL.com. The last time they shared a field, New England won 19-3 in Chicago in November 2024. Both of those teams finished under .500 and both changed coaches. Then last year Maye finished as the MVP runner-up and took New England to the Super Bowl, and Williams helped the Bears win their first NFC North title in seven years.

So yeah. This one has some juice.

The Patriots come in on a three-game winning streak, and it started with an upset of the AFC East-leading Bills, NFL.com notes. Chicago is coming off a road win in Atlanta and can start a season 5-2 for the first time since 2020.

Drake Maye flipped the switch

Remember the first three weeks? Maye threw a league-high six interceptions. People were nervous. People were calling radio shows.

Since then: an NFL-best 10 touchdown passes over the past three weeks, the top passer rating among qualified quarterbacks at 119.3, and the top EPA per dropback at 0.38, according to NFL.com. One interception in that span. One.

Here's the catch. Chicago's defense leads the league in takeaways since the start of last season with 42. So the question tonight isn't whether Maye can make throws. It's whether the Bears can coax the Week 1 version of him back out.

The Patriots' line has been holding up too. Against the Jets last week, with a shuffled offensive line because of injuries, New England didn't allow a sack, the first time all year, and the Jets came in tied for fourth in the league with 17 sacks, according to the team's game release.

Caleb is back and completing everything

Williams missed three games with a hamstring injury and came back against the Falcons like he'd never left: 305 yards, a touchdown and an 83.3% completion rate, per NFL.com. He leads the league this season with a 72.5% completion rate (minimum 75 attempts). Last year he was at 58.1%. That's a whole different quarterback.

New England's defense ranks among the top six in points and yards allowed, according to NFL.com, so this is the first real wall he's hit since coming back.

The A.J. Brown problem

The Patriots' big offseason addition finally played again last Sunday for the first time since Week 1. Ten targets, a team high. Three catches. Twenty-seven yards. That's the fewest catches he's had in any of his 30 career games with 10 or more targets, NFL.com says. He didn't catch any of his three targets that traveled 10 or more yards in the air, and he acknowledged after the game that drops were a problem.

And it matters more tonight, because Romeo Doubs, New England's leading receiver, is out with a shoulder injury. Maye is going to look Brown's way. Brown has to catch it.

Brown is listed with an ankle injury but was a full participant Wednesday and has no game status, so he's playing, according to the Patriots' injury report.

Chicago's defense: real or lucky?

The Bears rank in the top seven in points and yards allowed, a big jump from last year, according to NFL.com. But they also give up 6.0 yards per play, second-most in the league, and their run game keeps the defense off the field. Chicago averages just 50.2 defensive snaps per game. No team has finished a season that low since at least 2000, per NFL Research.

Chicago also has the No. 1 rushing offense at 160.7 yards a game, according to the Patriots' tale of the tape, and holds the ball an average of 36:01. New England's run defense allows 91.8 yards a game, eighth in the league. Whoever wins that matchup probably controls the clock.

Defensive lineman Montez Sweat, Chicago's second-highest-paid player, is serving the second game of a two-game suspension. Keep an eye on nickelback Kyler Gordon, who had three sacks on 16 snaps in his season debut last week.

Who's in, who's out

Patriots OUT: OL Ben Brown (knee), CB Channing Canada (hamstring), CB Carlton Davis III (neck), CB Karon Prunty (hamstring) and G Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring). That's three corners. QUESTIONABLE: S Kevin Byard III (chest), LB Christian Elliss (chest), T Morgan Moses (foot) and S Craig Woodson (shoulder). Maye (right shoulder) was a full participant and has no game status.

Bears OUT: RB Kyle Monangai (thumb/toe) and LB Jack Sanborn (concussion). DOUBTFUL: LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: DB Tyrique Stevenson Sr. (hip).

Numbers to know

New England is 11-4 all-time against Chicago in the regular season and has won four straight in Chicago, according to the team. That .733 mark is the Patriots' best against any NFC team. In that 19-3 win in 2024, the Patriots had nine sacks and held Chicago to 142 yards and 1-for-14 on third down.

Hunter Henry is tied with Russ Francis at 28 touchdowns. One more and he's alone in third on the franchise list for tight ends.

The one ugly number: New England's turnover differential is minus-6, 30th in the league. Against the team that lives on takeaways, that's the stat to watch.

The Patriots are 15-8 all-time on Thursdays. Tonight is a chance to make it four straight wins and send a message to the rest of the league that the turnover-heavy start is in the rearview.