The clock was ticking down in the second quarter and the pocket around Justin Fields was collapsing, with one defender coming towards him from the right, another turning from the left, and a third coming towards him.
A quick pump mock froze one of the rushers. Fields dragged to the left, barely freed from another’s outstretched arm, and then stammered to the right to squeeze through an almost nonexistent hole. And then it was a sideline race that collected 20 yards in third and 14th and carried Chicago to the shooting range.
Fields threw for 179 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 82 yards and one more point Monday night, transforming five more third hits with his legs and five more with his arm, leading Chicago to a 33-14 victory over the New England Patriots.
“He kept the drivers going,” said Patriots linebacker Matthew Judon. “We would take them third and tall and it looked like he would find a running lane and take it with his feet or shoot. It would just move the chains. We didn’t have an answer to give him.”
Fields rushed 3 yards in the first quarter, giving the Bears (3-4) a 10-0 lead. After Bailey Zappe came off the bench and replaced Mac Jones and led New England to back-to-back touchdowns and a 14-10 lead, Fields hit Khalil Herbert for a 25-yard touchdown pass to start a 23-point run.
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“I’m still growing, I’m getting better,” Fields said. “Definitely the sky’s the limit.”
In a quarterback matchup in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship game, Fields outperformed Jones, who led Alabama to victory over Fields’ Ohio State. Fields also outpaced Zappe, who stepped in after Jones managed an interception on his return after just two three-pointers and missing three games with a high ankle sprain.
The damp Gillette Stadium crowd shouted “Zappe! Zap!” A fourth-round pick from western Kentucky led the Patriots to back-to-back touchdowns and a 14-10 lead. But the Bears scored the next 23 points.
“It’s just a bad show from start to finish,” said New England security Devin McCourty. “I don’t care who plays the quarterback if we lose 33 points. We will have a hard time winning the game,” he said.
Zappe was 5 out of 6 for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But the second time, he was 9 out of 16 for 76 yards and two interceptions. Jones completed 3 of 6 passes for 13 yards with an interception. Rhamondre Stevenson caught eight passes for 59 yards and rushed 11 times for 39 for the Patriots (3-4).
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the plan was to play both quarterbacks from the start, and Jones wasn’t backed up because of his performance. He declined to say who will start next week against the Jets.
“She would come back (but) the score got out of control,” he said. “I didn’t think it was the right thing to do.”
David Montgomery rushed for 62 yards, and Herbert did the same for Chicago, which lost three straight games and four-fifths. The Bears also defeated New England 46-10 in the 1986 Super Bowl, losing directly to the Patriots five and eight out of nine.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos was 4 of 4, including bringing the third quarter’s 50-yard end to 26-14. After Zappe hit a three-pointer, Dante Pettis made a 27-yard punt to the Patriots’ 39-yard line; Herbert and Montgomery took the final 26 yards to give Chicago a 33-14 lead.
Bears rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker have made their career debuts.
father patriotic
That loss deprived Belichick of his 325th career victory—regular season and playoffs—to surpass the NFL’s all-time-list Monsters of the Midway Hall of Famer George Halas. Belichick and Halas are second behind Don Shula, who won 347 games for the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins.
HONORED TO RICHARD SEYMOUR
The Patriots honored former defender Richard Seymour at halftime when he was presented with the Hall of Fame ring by owner Robert Kraft. Seymour was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer. He spent eight seasons with New England and was a member of three Super Bowl-winning teams.
INJURY
Bears OL Lucas Patrick left with a toe injury in the first half.
The Patriots: S Kyle Dugger left in the third quarter with an ankle injury. C David Andrews was assessed for a head injury after receiving a block from the blind side from Bears defender Mike Pennel following a fourth-quarter interception. Pennel was ejected from the game.
IN THE NEXT WEEK 8
The Bears: at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
The Patriots: On Sunday at the New York Jets.
