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FOXBOROUGH - For those who remember Super Bowl XX, any huge win over the Chicago Bears is extra sweet.
On Sunday, the Patriots dismantled the Monsters of the Midway, 51-23 at Gillette Stadium, advancing the Patriots to 6-2 and setting up a titanic bout next weekend. Brady-Manning XVI figures to be the game of the season in the NFL to this point, and both teams looked terrific at home heading into the tilt next weekend at The Razor.
That said, despite all the offensive heroics for the Patriots and how easily they handled Da Bears in general, there are still lingering concerns over the Patriots, especially on defense, which will have a huge impact on a very important game next weekend which could in the long run help determine the AFC Champion this season.
Everyone will go gaga over Tom Brady's terrific day, Rob Gronkowski returning to his invincible form, and Brandon LaFell becoming the next Julian Edelman. And they should. But all this offensive bling won't matter next week if the Patriots don't do something about run defense, and they should thank their lucky stars that the Bears don't believe in the old maxim "Run the ball until they show that they can stop the run."
Patrick Forte was the key to a Bears victory, if that was meant to be. Forte was exactly as advertised, rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries and a six-yard average per carry. He also tied for the team high in pass receptions with six catches for 54 yards. Forte's backup, Ka'Deem Carey, chipped in with 33 carries on six carries and a 5.5 average per carry.
Like Chris Ivory of the Jets last week, Forte was gashing the Patriots inside most all game long. But the Bears did not take full advantage of the matchup advantage with Forte and missed out on a chance to control the game and keep Brady off the field. Marc Tressman could have used Forte and Carey in a tandem so as to not wear one or the other out, and then used play action to set up a passing attack with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett. Even with inconsistent Jay Cutler under center, this plan could have worked perfectly and helped the Bears keep pace with the Patriots better.
With how bad the Chicago defense played, perhaps this didn't matter. It will next week against the Broncos, as Ronnie Hillman and Montee Ball could help Peyton Manning set up a lethal passing attack with Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas. If the Patriots cannot contain the Bronco rushers better than they have done in the past few weeks, Manning will find one or two guys running around with ease next week as Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner can't cover everyone.
This is something the Patriots have to address and fix and soon. A Denver loss next week will pull them into a tie for the conference lead with the Patriots (and Baltimore and Indianapolis if they win). Winning the tiebreaker with Denver would be crucial come January, though it didn't quite pay off last year despite the exciting regular season overtime win.
What the NFL will be licking its chops over next week will be a Brady-Manning shootout. If Brady is on his game like he was on Sunday, next week should be most entertaining.
 Rob Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. (USA TODAY Images) |
Jonas Gray did nicely at running back with 86 yards rushing on 17 carries and a 5.1 average per carry. He doesn't remind you of Stevan Ridley, but given how well the Bears played run defense in the red area, those were good numbers.
Defensively, the Patriots weren't impregnable, but looked good for the most part. Revis did a great job in shutting down Marshall, limiting the outspoken receiver to three catches for 35 yards. Browner also had a nice game mostly lined up against Jeffery. Rob Ninkovich had a fumble recovery return for a touchdown late in the first half, and the defense sacked Cutler three times.
The fact that the Patriots really didn't contain Forte didn't matter at all. The Patriots had the ball ten times, scored on eight of the possessions, punted on one and did the victory formation on the other. Chicago basically played hideous defense; they went after safety Ryan Mundy all game long, they had no answer for Gronkowski at all, and to make matters worse, Lamarr Houston sacked Jimmy Garoppolo late in the game and had to come out of the game with an injury sustained while he was celebrating the sack.
The game was decided in a dizzying sequence late in the second quarter. Gronkowski caught a 2-yard touchdown pass which should have been overturned on replay as he juggled the ball as he fell to the ground keeping both feet inbounds. Leading 24-7, the Patriots held the Bears three and out and Edelman returned the ensuing punt 42 yards. A holding penalty put the ball at the Chicago 9-yard line. LaFell caught a touchdown pass on the next play as he beat former Boston College cornerback Al Louis-Jean in the left corner of the end zone. On their first play of the next drive, Zach Moore induced a Cutler fumble which Ninkovich picked up at the Chicago 15 and ran it in for still another touchdown. The Patriots wound up scoring three touchdowns in 57 seconds to make it 38-7.
To make matters worse, the Patriots got the ball to begin the second half, and Brady was able to hit Gronkowski for a 46-yard touchdown pass. He gave Mundy a terrific stiffarm on his way to the end zone and outran Louis-Jean the rest of the way. No wonder that an IV was next in store for the big fella.
So let the Brady-Manning hype begin. Like last year, the game will be home (regular season, that is). It will be fun to watch. It would give the winner the all-important tiebreaker edge. Playoff alignment is still too early right now to carve up and dissect, but it still matters.
Stop the run. Put that up in capital letters on every Patriot bulletin board and blackboard. Stop the run. Stop the run.
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