The New England Patriots return to Gillette Stadium on Monday night for a rare meeting with the visiting Chicago Bears.
There’s a little drama heading into this game with Bears defensive lineman Justin Jones taking a page out of the old Deflategate accusation book. He claimed he was going to check for deflated footballs before the two teams play against one another. So much for not leaving coach Bill Belichick with any bulletin board material.
Meanwhile, the Patriots could be preparing to roll out Mac Jones as the starting quarterback for the first time since the team’s Week 3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
The Bears have lost their last three straight games, including a 12-7 loss at home to the Washington Commanders in Week 6. They’ll face an uphill battle against a Patriots team that has sputtered offensively at times, but they have a championship caliber defense on the other side of the ball.
They shut out the Detroit Lions at home before going on the road and rolling over the Cleveland Browns. A victory on Monday would give the Patriots their first winning record of the season.
Here’s how to watch the game.