Patriots who pose the biggest problems for the Chicago Bears

For the third straight game, the Bears face a team that has entered a rebuilding program under a new coach since Chicago began its own rebuild under coach Matt Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poels.

The first two games of this stretch didn’t quite show that the Bears’ rebuild has gone as well as Washington’s and Arizona’s.

The New England Patriots have gone through nine starters since last season and hardly resemble Eberflus’ Bears team, which was crushed in 2022 in their most impressive win of just three wins this season.

The most obvious difference is the departure of Bill Belichick, and the team will be taken over by former Belichick assistant and Patriots player Jerod Mayo.

They haven’t strayed too far from the “patriotic path” in rebuilding, but the one thing they need to get right is a key ingredient: the quarterback. This is what made their Super Bowl winning seasons different from other teams’ seasons.

Quarterback Drake May was the third overall draft pick and has a slightly higher passer rating (85.1) than Bears QB Caleb Williams (83.0), although he only started half the games that Williams played. May adds that the Bears have faced a run threat in the last three games with Trevor Lawrence, Jaden Daniels and Kyler Murray.

“Yeah, we’ve had a lot of work with it the last couple of weeks,” linebacker TJ Edwards said. “This guy is very talented. He can do different things with his legs and also a very strong arm, so we’re excited.”

“We’re going to go out and play our best, challenge these guys, play and get back to what we did at the beginning of the season.”

The Patriots looked better last week compared to their previous few attempts in a road game they nearly won after losing to the Titans in overtime.

Here are the Patriots who could pose the biggest threat to the Bears.

1. QB Drake Maye

May has a strong hand, there’s no doubt about it. He may have had the strongest arm in this year’s draft. But it’s his legs that the Bears need to really worry about after having trouble stopping the run. Maye rushed for 95 yards last week and 46 yards in the previous game, the best the Patriots have ever gotten from a QB in back-to-back games. At 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, he is a threat to break tackles and get past tackles. The Bears didn’t handle the run/pass threat from Washington’s Jaden Daniels, and they didn’t need to do that against Arizona because they didn’t make Kyler Murray work hard last week. May’s accuracy hasn’t been an issue so far, as it often is with new players. He’s completed 65.6%, but he’s taking 6.2-yard checkdowns in coverage while trying when facing a deficit, and then it’s easier to be accurate.

2. T.E. Hunter Henry

The Bears couldn’t stop Zach Ertz two weeks ago, and while they held Trey McBride to three catches and 35 yards last week, they also gave up a key touchdown to him, and all of his catches were important. Henry always has a knack for finding open spots, but his real strength compared to other tight ends is that he has more success with his catches. His career average is 11.6 yards per carry. His shots-to-goals ratio (73.6%) is the best of his career.

3. RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson has already thrown more touchdowns this season than in any of his four seasons with the Patriots as they recommit to gaining yards on the ground. That can’t be good news for the Bears’ weak defense. Stevenson is a strong 6-foot, 227-pound downhill runner, much like Arizona’s James Conner. And he’s also a threat to catch passes with 23 catches, albeit for just 99 yards. He averages 3.8 yards per carry and has 438 yards.

4. RB Antonio Gibson

Gibson gives them a rushing 1-2 punch, much like how the Bears faced Jacksonville. At 6-foot-228 pounds, he could be as difficult to handle as Stevenson if he gains some momentum and has always been a threat to go the distance with his 4.39-second 40-yard dash speed. Gibson is averaging 4.1 yards per carry on 57 attempts as a backup, but he’s as much of a running threat as Emari Demercado as last week, and the Bears clearly had trouble stopping the backup Cardinals.

5. PR man Marcus Jones

The Patriots’ special teams could pose a real threat with kicker Joey Sly having a 63-yard range, but their biggest threat is the punt returner. Jones is averaging 15.6 yards per return on 17 returns for 62 yards. Jones led the NFL in kickoff returns in 2022 as a rookie and is just 96 yards shy of his season total this year. Jones is a 5-8, 188-pound defensive tackle who turned pro in 2022 as a returner.

6. CB Jonathan Jones

One of the best slot defenders a few years ago, he moved to the outside but wasn’t as effective. However, he is their most consistent player against the pass, despite a 124.3 passer rating against the target and two touchdown passes allowed, per Stathead/Pro Football Reference. D.B. The 5-foot-9, 185-pounder has been with the Patriots since 2018 and has only two passer ratings with a rating above 94.0. He has four passes to his name.

7. D.E. Keyon White

The 6-foot-5, 285-pound sophomore has stepped up in the final two games after recording just one sack in his first 23 games. He has four sacks in his last two games and uses a combination of speed and power to apply pressure. He already has five more pressures (18) than he had in his entire rookie year, 2023.

8. Edge Anfernee Jennings

The 2020 third-round pick out of Alabama is 6-3, 255 and can defend the edge as a run back, although his pass-rush grades were lower. Pro Football Focus ranks him as the seventh-best defensive end among cornerbacks. He has just half a sack this season and three in his four-year career, but has made 44 tackles.

Twitter: BearsOnSI