MORSE: Week 10 Patriots Opponent Preview: Chicago Bears
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The Bears are led by 3rd year Hed Coach Matt Eberflus. He came to the Bears after a stint as Defensive Coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts. Hired in 2022, Eberflus had no head coaching experience, and struggled in his first year with the 3-14 Bears. Last season, with one of the easiest schedules in the league they improved to 7-10. They traded the 1st Overall selection in the 2023 Draft to Carolina for WR DJ Moore, 2023 1st (#9), 2023 2nd (#), 2024 1st (#1 Caleb Williams) and a 2025 2nd round pick so the Panthers could draft Bryce Young. Coming into the game Sunday the Bears are 4-4.
Offense
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| QB | Caleb Williams Q | Tyson Bagent | – | – |
| RB | D’Andre Swift | Roschon Johnson | Travis Homer | Ian Wheeler IR |
| WR | DJ Moore | Tyler Scott | – | – |
| WR | Keenan Allen | DeAndre Carter | – | – |
| WR | Rome Odunze | Nsimba Webster IR | – | – |
| TE | Cole Kmet | Gerald Everett | Marcedes Lewis | Stephen Carlson IR |
| LT | Braxton Jones Q | Larry Borom | Kiran Amegadjie Q | Matt Pryor |
| LG | Teven Jenkins | Bill Murray IR | ||
| C | Coleman Shelton | Doug Kramer Jr. | ||
| RG | Matt Pryor | Nate Davis | Ryan Bates IR | – |
| RT | Darnell Wright Q | Matt Pryor |
Willaims is a rookie QB and is playing like one. He has had brilliant moments and other not so good lowlights. The USC product has been sacked the 2nd most in the league and averages 3.5 sacks a game. He holds onto the ball too long. Pro Football Focus (PFF) gives him a 61.1 rating, 33rd in the league. The backup is Tyson Bagent, a 6’3” 215-pound QB that played at D II Sheperd University. He went undrafted in 2022 and signed with the Bears. During his brief NFL career, he has completed 65.7% of his passes and thrown 6 TDs to just 3 INT.
At Running Back, the Bears signed De’Andre Swift away from the Eagles in Free Agency. Originally thought to be just a pass catching back, Swift has assumed the lead back role. Drafted out of Georgia in the 2020 draft in the 2nd round (#35) by Detroit, he spent last year with the Eagles. Small in height at 5’ 8 ¼”, he is stout at 215 pounds and runs a 4.48 40-yard dash. He is currently rated at 60.3 good for 53rd in the league. Roschon Johnson is the backup. The 2023 4th round pick (#115) out of Texas, stands 6’ 225 pounds and runs a 4.58 40-yard dash. His PFF Rating is 70.2 and he is ranked #32.
The Wide Receiver group is very good. DJ Moore has had a resurgence since being traded to Chicago. Going into his 7th year since being drafted in the 2018 draft, 1st Round (#24). Moore is just 27 years old and played collegiately at Maryland. His PFF rank is #58 with a 67.0 rating. Keenan Allen is the wiley vet and came over in trade with the LA Chargers. Entering his 12th year the 6’2” 211-pound WR runs very precise routes. He is a 6x Pro Bowl selection. Last season in just13 games Allen had 108 receptions for 1243yards and 7 TDs. The third wideout is 1st round selection this year, Rome Odunze. He was a teammate of Ja’Lynn Polk for that high powered offense at Washington. The 6’3” 212-pound receiver ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the combine. In his 4 years at Washington, he had 214 catches for 3, 272 yards and 24 TDs. Odunze has been targeted 44 times this year and has 25 catches for 391 yards and 1 TD.
The primary target at TE is Cole Kmet. Last season the 2020 2nd round pick (43) out of Notre Dame had his best season with 76 catches for 719 yards and 6 TDs. At 6’6” 260 pounds he is the ideal size for a TE with a large catch radius. He has 21 catches for 219 yards and 3 TDs this year in 5 games. The Bears have two veteran backups in Gerald Everett, the former Rams starter and Marcedes Lewis. Everett has 7 catches on the season. Lewis is 40 years old and was the former 1st Round pick in the 2006 draft by Jacksonville.
The Offensive line has been an issue for the Bears. Chicago has dealt with ineffectiveness with the team’s protection plan against Arizona. Week 9 pass-rushing design was an unmitigated disaster — and then add injuries to the equation.
Left tackle Braxton Jones went down with a knee injury in Week 8 and could miss a few weeks. He Did Not Practice on Wednesday and was Limited on Thursday. Third-round rookie Kiran Amegadjie struggled to fill in at left tackle in Week 8, giving up four pressures on just 23 pass-blocking snaps. Veteran Larry Borom was just as poor in Week 9, allowing seven pressures on PB snaps. Free Agent Center Ryan Bates is on IR. RT Darnell Wright is also listed as Questionable. Amegadjie, a player from FCS Yale, with only two-years college experience is a player I thought the Pats might be interested in, is also Questionable. Amegadjie and Wright Did Not Practice on Wednesday or Thursday. Ryan Bates was a Full Participant and is likely to be activated off IR for the game Sunday.
Probable Line combination: LT Braxton Jones or Larry Borom 6’6” 330 pounds 2021 5th Round pic (#115) out of Missouri. PFF rating of 44.2 (lower than Chuks Okorafor) for the number 118th OT. LG Teven Jenkins was also selected in the 2021 draft by Chicago in the 2nd Round (#39). The 6’6” 330-pound Guard played at Oklahoma State. His PFF grade is 73.9, good for 15th in the league. Jenkins is a player coming up in Free Agency and his versatility, playing both guard positions as well as both Tackles is very attractive. The Center should be Coleman Shelton as they might use Ryan Bates at RG. Shelton is 6’4” 299 pounds from Washington. He signed with San Francisco as a UDFA in 2018. Thru 9 games Shelton has a 68.6 rating good for 14th amongst Centers. Shelton will also be an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2025. Bates is coming off IR. He has started practicing so his 21-day window to be re-activated has started and I expect he will be activated for Sunday. He only played 38 snaps before getting hurt in game 1. The 6’2”, 301-pound guard played at Penn State and signed with Philadelphia as a UDFA in 2019. RT might be Matt Pryor. The 6’ 7” 332 pound Guard might be moved to Tackle because of injuries. Pryor played at TCU and was a 2018 Philadelphia 6th Round (#206) selection. He has played 9 games at Guard and has a 69.0 rating from PFF good for 27th in the league. How will he be at Tackle???
Defense
The Bears have a good defense but not to the level they have had in previous years. Eberflus is a defensive coach and can get the most out of his players. They rank 12th in Overall Defense, 8th in Pass Defense at 191.3 yards per game, 29th in Rush Defense at 131.6. 5th in Scoring Defense giving up 15.5 points a game. In the Red Zone they are 3rd with 40.9% and on 3rd Down they tied for 6th with 33%.
Base 4-3
| Starter | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | |
| LDE | Montez Sweat Q | Darrell Taylor | Daniel Hardy | – |
| LDT | Zacch Pickens | Byron Cowart | Andrew Billings O | |
| RDT | Gervon Dexter Sr. | Chris Williams | – | |
| RDE | DeMarcus Walker | Austin Booker | Jacob Martin | Dominique Robinson |
| WLB | T.J. Edwards | Amen Ogbongbemiga | ||
| MLB | Tremaine Edmunds | |||
| SLB | Jack Sanborn | Noah Sewell | – | |
| LCB | Jaylon Johnson | Jaylon Jones Q | – | |
| SS | Jaquan Brisker Q | Elijah Hicks | – | – |
| FS | Kevin Byard III | Jonathan Owens | Douglas Coleman IR | |
| RCB | Tyrique Stevenson | Terell Smith Q | – | |
| NB | Kyler Gordon Q | Josh Blackwell | – |
Montez Sweat was traded last season by the Washington Commanders to the Chicago Bears for 2024 2nd round pick. All he did was have a Pro Bowl season with 12.5 sacks. He is a player that you must account for. The 6’6” 262-pound LDE player for Mississippi State and was a 1st Round (#26) selection in the 2019 draft. His PFF rating is 73.0, 34th amongst Edge players. Zacch Pickens is projected to replace Andrew Billings who is Out (probable IR for the season) with a torn Pectoral muscle. That is a big loss for Chicago. The 6’4” 300-pound Pickens attended South Carolina and was selected by Washington in the 2023 draft 2nd round (#65). His PFF Rating is 57.4 and his rank is 100. The other DT is Gervon Dexter a 6’6” 312-pound former Florida State Seminole. He is a very disruptive 2023 draftee, 2nd round (#54) with 4.88 speed and 5 sacks already on the season. His PFF rating is 68.2 good for 59th. The RDE is DeMarcus Walker, 6’4” 280-pounds, another FSU grad was taken in the 2017 2nd Round (#51) by Denver. His PFF rating is 67.7 good for 59th. Former Patriots draft choice, Byron Cowart is a backup lineman for Chicago. After spending time on three different Practice Squads last season, he made the Bears out of Training Camp in 2024.
The Weakside Linebacker position is manned by TJ Edwards. The 6’1” 242 Wisconsin product was a 2019 UDFA signed by Philadelphia. His PFF Rating is 58.1 good for 107th. Tremaine Edmunds should be familiar to Pats fans from his time patrolling the MLB position for Buffalo. The 6’5”, 250-pound former Virgina Tech Hokie was drafted by Buffalo in the 2018 1st Round (#16). The 2-time Pro Bowl selection signed as a Free Agent with Chicago in 2023. His PFF rating is 60.5 good for 93rd. The Bears are very thin at LB after their starters. Jack Sanborn is another Wisconsin grad. At slightly under 6’1”, 234-pound Strong Side backer ran a 4.78 40 and a 6.96 3-cone drill at the 2022 combine. These were not enough for him to get him drafted and he signed with Chicago as an UDFA and made the team. Sanborn will be a Free Agent in 2025. His PFF Rating is 72.0 good for 32nd in the league.
The Bears have invested heavily with draft capital in establishing one of the best, young secondaries in the league. Four of the five players are 2nd round picks and the other is a veteran All Pro. The LCB is Jaylon Johnson, a 6’ 196-pound Washington product. He was a 2020 2nd round pick (#50). His PFF rating is 74.5 good for 27th amongst CBs. Strong Safety is Jaquan Brisker, a 2022 2nd round (#48) pick. The Penn State product has a 65.3 PFF rating and is ranked 9th amongst Safeties. Free Safety Kevin Byard is one of the best Safeties in the league. The 5’11” 212-pound Safety from Middle Tennessee State was a 2016 3rd round (#64) selection by Tennessee. After getting traded to Philadelphia during the off-season and then suddenly released. The 31-year-old signed a 2-year contract with Chicago. He was selected as an All-Pro and as a Pro Bowler twice. LCB is Tyrique Stevenson, a 6’ 204-pound Utah product. The 2023 2nd round pick (#57) out of Miami (FL) has a PFF rating of 56.3 good for 142nd. The Slot Corner is Kyler Gordon, the 4th 2nd round draft pick in the secondary. The 6’ 200-pound Nickel Corner played at Washington and was taken in the 2022 2nd round (#39) by Chicago. He has returned from a broken hand earlier this season. His PFF rating is 68.0 and his rank is 59th.
Special Teams
Cairo Santos is a middle of the pack Kicker in the league. He is ranked 28th in Field Goals Made but has made kicks beyond the 50-yard line on 6 of 7 attempts. His FG% is 84.6%. Punting duties are handled by Tory Taylor. His ranking in Punting Average is 14th with a 49.1 average. His net yards per punt I 41.4 good for 21st and he has kicked 16 punts inside the 20-yard line. Taylor was part of the Bryce Young trade and selected in the 4th Round (#122) of the 2024 Draft out of Iowa. Punt Return and Kickoff returns are performed by DeAndre Carter. His kickoff return ranking is 8th and his Punt Return rank is 11th with a 8.21 average.
| Starter | 2nd | |
| PK | Cairo Santos | – |
| P | Tory Taylor | – |
| H | Tory Taylor | |
| PR | DeAndre Carter | – |
| KR | DeAndre Carter | |
| LS | Scott Daly | Patrick Scales IR |
Comings and Goings
Tyreese Robinson RG Oklahoma – 6’3”, 317-pound Guard played 2019 and 2020 at RG for the Sooners. He moved to RT in 2021. Robinson was a teammate of Rhamondre Stevenson at Oklahoma. He went undrafted in 2022 and was signed by Philadelphia, Cut at the final cutdown he was signed and spent 2022 on the Eagles Practice Squad. In 2023 he signed with Minnesota and was cut and spent the year on their Practice Squad. He re-signed with the Vikings, spent the Training Camp with them, was cut and re-signed with their Practice Squad again. That was until the Patriots came calling. According to NFL Draft Buzz, he is a below average lineman prospect, and his height and length are not good enough to play tackle at the NFL level. Since he was signed off a Practice Squad he must be kept on the 53-man roster for three weeks. In a corresponding move, Zach Thomas was waived. I liked what I saw from Thomas in limited playing time and hope he makes it to the Practice Squad. Thomas was claimed by Houston.
Monty Rice LB is a 3-year veteran drafted by Tennessee in the 3rd Round (#92) of the 2021 Draft. Rice is small at 6’- 03”, 235 pounds. He played for Georgia and was a key member of the Dawg Defense. Generally considered to be the leader of the Defense, he flew around the field making plays and utilizing his 4.58 speed. He is the perfect kind of player to sign onto the PS and see if he can resurrect his career. still playing. The former 1st round selection (#28) in the 2006 draft by Jacksonville is 6’7” 267 pounds.
Bryan Hudson C released from PS to make room for Rice. Hudson was signed just after the final roster cuts and has served as the scout team center.
Leftover Notes from Sunday
Anfernee Jennings leads the league in run stops from his edge position. Coming into the Tennessee game he had 18 stops on the edge. He added 4 more on Sunday. Jennings is good at setting the edge but lacks any kind of Pass Rush ability.
Joey Slye missed a 56-yard FG into the wind on Sunday. That missed kick is the difference between winning and losing the game.
The Patriots lost the coin flip in Overtime on Sunday and inexplicably did not choose the wind. Jerod Mayo said the wind was swirling on the field. I’m not buying that for a second. Again, another incident of an ill-prepared 1st year head coach with no prior Head Coaching experience.
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Interesting: Chicago has the QB (although young), plus 3 talented WR’s, and good TE. But they are struggling due to O-line alike the pats. It’s a good example of NFL team play and as such, don’t condemn the WR, QB, RB etc when/if the o-line is a mess. You could have Jerry Rice and Calvin Johnson on the pats and the offense still would not be great. Team game…. and it starts at the line of scrimmage on both sides. Chicago should win Sunday and the point spread of -6 validates that thought. Bears have played well at home. They… Read more »