Caleb Williams outduels Drake Maye as Bears beat Patriots 30-24

Caleb Williams outdueled Drake Maye as the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots 30-24 at Soldier Field on Thursday night.

The meeting was the pair’s second since the 2024 NFL draft, when Williams was taken No 1 by Chicago and Maye No 3 by New England. Williams completed 22 of 33 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns in his second game back after a hamstring injury, becoming the first Bears quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards in consecutive games since Mitch Trubisky’s three-game run in 2018. “It’s amazing [having Williams on the field]. His leadership, his competitiveness, everyone around here feels it. He gets us going,” said Bears running back D’Andre Swift after the game.

Maye finished 24 of 31 for 321 yards and two touchdowns and threw an interception in the end zone in the first half. New England had been on a three-game winning streak behind Maye, during which he threw 10 touchdown passes and one interception.

Chicago’s receiving attack featured Luther Burden with four catches for 130 yards, and Colston Loveland hauled in a 12-yard touchdown. Rhamondre Stevenson caught five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown for New England, while Eli Raridon had a 30-yard TD reception in the third quarter.

The Bears opened with a 10-0 first-quarter lead after Cairo Santos’s 43-yard field goal and Swift’s four-yard touchdown run. Early in the second quarter Maye scored on a seven-yard run, but Santos’s 31-yard field goal restored a 13-7 Chicago advantage.

The teams exchanged late first-half scores inside the final 14 seconds: Williams found Burden for a 24-yard touchdown, and with no time remaining Maye connected on a 48-yard pass to Stevenson, who caught the ball on the Chicago 47 and eluded several defenders en route to the end zone; Andy Borregales’s extra point pulled New England to 20-14.

Chicago increased the lead to 27-14 when Loveland finished the second-half opening drive with his 12-yard TD catch, and New England answered on the next possession with Maye’s 30-yard scoring pass to Raridon. Santos later made a 58-yard field goal with 1:34 remaining — a career long and matching the franchise record — after missing a 53-yard attempt earlier in the final quarter; Maye then drove New England into range for Borregales’s 47-yarder with 37 seconds left, but Chicago recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran down the clock.

The Bears marked their first home game since Mike Ditka died on 9 October with a pregame moment of silence, distributed fake mustaches to the crowd of 60,520 at Soldier Field, and displayed Ditka’s No 89 jerseys and fans wearing Bears sweaters.

The victory moved Chicago to 5-2 in the standings while New England fell to 4-3.