4. Caleb Williams needs to outplay Drake Maye
Caleb Williams had a rough two weeks. This hurts because he is coming off of two of his best weeks before that, and it really looked like he was turning a page. However, he has remained inaccurate downfield, and too often he drops his eyes when he faces pressure and leaves the pocket.
When he faced off with Jayden Daniels he took on the lesser defense but looked like the lesser player. Now, he faces off with the player taken after Daniels in Maye. He needs to look better than Maye because if he does not, the concern will get louder around the city.
The Patriots rank 30th in expected points allowed per dropback. The two teams that are worse include the Jaguars and Panthers. Those are the two defenses that Williams shredded. Essentially, if Williams does not play well this week, it will not only look bad in comparison to Maye, who faces a much tougher defense, but it will be hard to project him playing well again for the rest of the season if he struggles here.
The only routes to the Patriots beating the Bears would either be Williams playing poorly and making mistakes, or Maye playing so well that he is keeping his team alive. Both would be bad scenarios for the Bears.