New England Patriots: 3 major issues that popped up in Week 7 loss
New England Patriots issue No. 2: What on earth is going on with the defense?
Even with all the quarterback uncertainty headlining this game, the Patriots felt confident in their ability to slow down Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense. Why wouldn’t they? Fields has looked horrible all season long under center, and the Patriots had allowed just 15 total points over their past two games.
Yet New England’s defense had a horrid game plan right from the get go. They stuck in zone coverage all night long, and were promptly torched on the ground and in the air whenever Fields actually threw the football. The Patriots’ defense, for whatever reason, played this game as if Fields was an elite pocket passer who could carve them up if they allowed him to.
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The Pats got torched on the ground by the Bears, who picked up 243 yards and two touchdowns on 45 carries. Much of the damage was done by Fields himself, who led the way with 82 yards and a touchdown on the ground, primarily on scramble plays, with a few designed runs mixed in. But much of it was made possible by the Patriots poor game plan.
New England could have very easily reverted to man coverage and stuck a spy on Fields to prevent any of this from happening. Fields isn’t an elite passer, and the Bears don’t really have any top tier wide receivers who could have beaten the Pats in man coverage, especially with Fields throwing them the ball. Why they didn’t remains a mystery, and now it’s looking like the defense has more questions than answers heading into Week 8 after getting torched by a terrible Bears offense.