The Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 at Soldier Field on Thursday, October 22, to move to 5-2. Chicago led 10-0 after one quarter and 20-7 with seconds left in the first half, then had to hold off Drake Maye, who threw for 321 yards, until a 58-yard Cairo Santos field goal and an onside-kick recovery by Rome Odunze closed it out.
Below, the game in six chapters: the fast start, Rhamondre Stevenson’s 48-yard touchdown on the final snap of the half, Caleb Williams and Luther Burden III, how New England kept pace on fewer plays, and the fourth-quarter sequence that decided it. Every number is in the Patriots-Bears Game Center.
Soldier Field in Chicago, May 2014. Photo by Ken Lund, CC-BY-SA-2.0, resized.Bears 30, Patriots 24: how Chicago held on to reach 5-2
Soldier Field in Chicago, May 2014. Photo by Ken Lund, CC-BY-SA-2.0, resized.Chicago strikes first
The Bears scored on two of their first three drives: a 43-yard Cairo Santos field goal and a 4-yard D’Andre Swift run. New England did not score in the first quarter.
Drake Maye answered with a 7-yard touchdown run early in the second. Then Chicago added a 31-yard field goal and, with 14 seconds left in the half, a 24-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to Luther Burden III. It was 20-7.
- Santos, 43-yard field goal. Bears 3-0
- Swift, 4-yard run. Bears 10-0
- Maye, 7-yard run. Bears 10-7
- Santos, 31-yard field goal. Bears 13-7
- Williams to Burden, 24 yards. Bears 20-7
Points by quarter
The last snap of the half
Three seconds were left and the ball sat near midfield. Chicago sent six rushers and kept two defensive backs deep against a heave, and the middle of the field was empty.
Maye flipped the ball short to Rhamondre Stevenson, who ran 48 yards untouched to the end zone as the clock hit zero. A 13-point hole became six at halftime, 20-14.
“We’ve been working on that play for a long time and it came in handy today.”— Rhamondre Stevenson
Caleb Williams during the 2025 season. Photo by Joe Glorioso for All-Pro Reels, CC-BY-SA-4.0, resized.Williams and the rookie
Williams finished 22 of 33 for 308 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Burden caught only four passes, but they went for 130 yards, including a 58-yarder.
The Bears went back up by 13 in the third quarter on a 12-yard throw to Colston Loveland, who was targeted 12 times and caught seven.
Bears receiving yards
Drake Maye in 2024. Photo by Tennessee Titans, CC-BY-3.0, resized.Maye keeps New England close
Maye was efficient all night: 24 of 31 for 321 yards, two touchdown passes, one interception and a rushing score. His 30-yard touchdown to Eli Raridon late in the third made it 27-21.
New England averaged more yards per play, 7.6 to 6.1, but ran only 50 plays to Chicago’s 66. The Bears held the ball for 32:24.
Yards per play
Plays run
Cairo Santos in 2015. Third-and-9, then 58 yards
With Chicago up 27-21 and pinned deep, Rome Odunze caught a 21-yard pass on third-and-9 to keep the drive going. Two snaps later he caught another to reach midfield.
Facing fourth down at the New England 40, Ben Johnson first leaned toward a punt. Santos, minutes after a 53-yard try clanged off the upright, asked for the kick and made it from 58 yards with 1:34 left, the longest field goal of his 13 seasons.
“I told HT, ‘I want it.’”— Cairo Santos
- Santos, 58-yard field goal. Bears 30-21
- Andy Borregales, 47-yard field goal. Bears 30-24
- Odunze recovers the onside kick; Chicago runs out the clock
What comes next
Chicago moved to 5-2 but lost tight end Cole Kmet, whose season is over; he went on injured reserve on Friday.
New England fell to 4-3. Both teams get a long week before their next game.
- Patriots at Miami Dolphins, 4:25 p.m. ET
- Bears at Seattle Seahawks, 8:15 p.m. ET
The Bears won a game in which they were outgained per play and outthrown by the other quarterback. They did it by holding the ball, finishing three of four red-zone trips and getting a 58-yard kick from a veteran who wanted it. Rome Odunze put it simply after the game: Chicago is “just trying to prove our team right.”
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