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The New England Patriots had a chance to notch their first winning record of the season, and coach Bill Belichick had an opportunity to surpass George Halas as the second-most winningest coach in NFL history.
All of the pieces were in place.
Mac Jones was back under center after missing the previous three weeks with a high ankle sprain. Damien Harris was back in the offensive backfield to form a thunder and lightning pairing with Rhamondre Stevenson. The Chicago Bears, who looked like one of the worst teams in football, were coming into town to face the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
What could possibly go wrong?
Everything went wrong for the Patriots on a night where they got flat-out embarrassed at home by a Bears team that showed up to play. The same Patriots defense that slowed down the Cleveland Browns’ No. 1-ranked rushing offense a little over a week ago had no answers for Justin Fields and company. The Bears compiled a ridiculous 243 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the vaunted Patriots defense.
Meanwhile, New England’s offense looked like a complete mess. Trent Brown was gifting out penalties like early Christmas presents, and Jones got benched after throwing his sixth interception of the season.
Patriots fans chanted for Bailey Zappe, and they got exactly what they wanted. The red-hot rookie gave the team a spark early in the game, and then everything fell apart in the second half. New England couldn’t move the ball on offense, and Zappe became a turnover-machine en route to a 33-14 loss at home.
He finished the game throwing 14-of-22 for 185 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
It was an all-around embarrassing performance from a Patriots team that sinks back below .500 win percentage. The playoffs seemed like a real possibility for the team before Monday night’s game.
Now, it’s nothing more than a pipe dream for the only losing team in the AFC East that still can’t even decide on a starting quarterback.
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