The New England Patriots were battling some injuries on their offensive line and elsewhere on the roster, but that misfortune does not fairly describe what went wrong in Thursday's 30-24 loss versus the Chicago Bears. They wasted opportunities on both sides of the ball. Drake Maye failed to spot an open Efton Chism III and instead threw an interception in the end zone on a pass that was intended for tight end Eli Raridon. There were plenty of defensive mistakes as well.
New England was highly vulnerable to the big play during this road matchup, allowing Luther Burden III to record four catches for 130 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Colston Loveland and Rome Odunze also punished the Pats with big gains. It is hard to simplify the problem to one area, but head coach Mike Vrabel did highlight his team's most glaring weakness on defense.
Article Continues Below“Tackling wasn't good enough,” he said during the postgame press conference, per MassLive.com's Mark Daniels.