The Chicago Bears scored their first road victory of the season on Monday (US time) after overpowering the New England Patriots 33-14 at Gillette Stadium.
Bears quarterback Justin Fields finished with 179 yards from 13-of-21 passes as Chicago ended a sequence of three away defeats with an emphatic win at a rainswept Foxborough.
Chicago improved to 3-4 with the victory while New England fell to 3-4 on a grim night for Bill Belichick’s team, who remain rooted to the foot of the AFC East division.
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Week 8
The build-up to Monday’s fixture had been dominated by discussion surrounding the Patriots quarterbacks, with starter Mac Jones back in the line-up after missing three games with an ankle sprain.
However Jones was pulled early in the second quarter after tossing an interception to Bears rookie safety Jaquan Brisker, with the Patriots already trailing 10-0 following a Fields rushing touchdown and a Cairo Santos field goal.
That paved the way for the return of the popular Patriots understudy Bailey Zappe.
Zappe’s introduction threatened to transform the game, with the Patriots reserve quarterback leading back-to-back touchdown drives to put New England into a 14-10 lead.
Just two years ago Zappe was playing quarterback at the tiny Houston Baptist University, which doesn’t even play at the top level of college football.
He transferred to Western Kentucky for the 2021 season and broke the FBS-level records for single-season passing, recording 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns in just 14 games.
Zappe was then selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the Patriots, and after a successful stint replacing Jones during a recent injury, he lit up the game on Tuesday.
However, Chicago reasserted themselves, with Fields finding Khalil Herbert for a 25-yard reception for a touchdown before Santos added a field goal to make it 20-14 at half-time.
Two more Santos field goals in the third quarter left the Bears 26-14 up before David Montgomery rushed over from one yard in the fourth quarter to seal the Chicago win.
