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The New England Patriots squandered a perfect chance on Monday

By Lou Scataglia

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 26: Offensive tackle Trent Brown #77 of the New England Patriots looks on during the first half of a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on August 26, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 26: Offensive tackle Trent Brown #77 of the New England Patriots looks on during the first half of a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on August 26, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Unger/Getty Images) /
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The New England Patriots, to put it lightly, crapped the bed on Monday night and squandered a perfect chance to get their season back on track.  Sometimes things just don’t go your way.  I liken this game on Monday night to one of those days where you wake up and you can just tell that the day is going to stink.

Little things make you mad and it seems like the world is out to get you on that day.  For the New England Patriots, they had a true case of the Mondays last night.  In what was arguably their weakest opponent on the schedule thus far, the Chicago Bears came into town into what was supposed to be an incredibly tough place to play.

Instead of the Patriots soundly winning like many thought, the Bears not only won, but embarrassed a team with the greatest head coach in NFL history on the other side.  The game-plan from both sides of the ball was an utter mess– the defense had no answer for the run game.

Chicago had three (!) players with at least 62 yards on the ground.  Justin Fields rushed for 82 yards himself.  Everyone and their mother knew that Fields wasn’t going to do any damage as a passer and was going to make most of his money on the ground.

You’d think then that the team would employ a defensive strategy to limit Fields’ legs, seeing as that is the only redeeming quality of the second year quarterback.  Offensively, neither quarterback was able to find their groove.

Mac Jones went 3/6 for an interception, and Bailey Zappe got 90% of the work at quarterback, passing for 185 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.  Matthew Judon notched another 2.5 sacks and DeVante Parker had 68 receiving yards, but there was virtually nothing positive to take from this game.

Not only that, the Patriots needed the win to simply keep pace in the division while still being last place.  Now with their divisional record, the Patriots are effectively two games behind the third place Miami Dolphins, who sit at 4-3.

New England needs to figure something out before their last two games before the bye week.  At 3-4, they can still knock off the Jets and Colts and get themselves in a solid spot before the break, but this loss was back-breaking.

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