For the first time since late September, the Chicago Bears (4-5) have fallen below .500 thanks to a frustratingly inefficient performance against the New England Patriots (3-7). The team's first loss at Soldier Field since week six of last season, the Bears disappointed for a third consecutive week against the Patriots in what may be the worst loss of the Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles era.
Headlined by another regressive offensive performance, the Bears failed to produce much excitement or hope on the field while reaching what seems to be rock bottom of their three-game losing streak. To see exactly how the Bears suffered their 19-3 loss against the Patriots, it's important to look at the statistics, and these five numbers tell the full story from Sunday:
9
The Bears continue to be negligent in their protection of rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, who was sacked a career-high 9 times by the Patriots.
Sunday was just the latest in a bad run of pass-protecting outings for the Bears, who have now allowed 15 sacks over their last two games. Sacked three or more times in all but two games, Williams is on pace to finish his debut season with 72 sacks, which would rank the second most for any quarterback in NFL history. Simply put, until Williams has the time to operate comfortably from the pocket, it will be impossible to see the full potential of either the quarterback or the team's passing attack, and Sunday's loss was a perfect example.
The Bears offense lost 51 yards due to sacks (for reference, D'Andre Swift finished the game with 59 rushing yards), which significantly hampered their ability to move the ball down the field despite often having strong starting field position. If the Bears hope to find any success over the coming weeks, especially against divisional opponents who all boast tenacious defensive fronts, keeping Williams upright and clean in the pocket is essential to helping the rookie find his groove down the stretch.