Saw the line at 3.5, felt it was kind of big for two roughly equal teams and took the Bears (low-stakes home pool, not Circa.) That’s just how the NFL works — the side that doesn’t quite make sense at first glance is usually correct. Don’t ask me why, it just is.
Drake Maye played a good game except for that end zone pick, something that’s a bad habit for him. It would have been nice to get A.J. Brown going more, but Brown still looked rusty, though not quite as rusty as last week when he narrowly eclipsed an ancient urn for the all-time record.
Rhamondre Stevenson didn’t do much on the ground, but he went 5-5-93-1 through the air, thanks to a last-second catch and run at the end of the half the Bears opted not to defend.
Hunter Henry (7-7-71-) was Maye’s top target, as Maye barely looked for his wideouts this game. Brown (6-3-48-0 led the position.)
Corey Kiner had four uneventful carries, while TreVeyon Henderson had only three. Henderson is a timeshare handcuff now, which means IF the starter goes down, he’d STILL be in a timeshare.
Caleb Williams looked pretty smooth, and he’s now targeting his more dynamic receivers. Colston Loveland (12-7-69-1) in particular saw a lot of work, but Luther Burden (4-4-130-1) had one of the most efficient days in NFL history. Even Rome Odunze (5-4-69-0) got involved, while Kalif Raymond had zero catches on two targets, and Cole Kmet got seriously injured.
D’Andre Swift (22-78-1, 4-4-12-0) is quietly having a nice year. I used to think of him as injury prone, but he’s been one of the more reliable backs the last couple years.
Ben Johnson, up six with 1:39 left, made an ultra aggressive decision to attempt a 58-yard field goal. Normally the FG is the cowardly thing, but not from the 40 yard line when the other team has no timeouts and still needs a TD. It worked out — even average kickers like Cairo Santos can drill 58-yarders these days — but what a gamble. Had Santos missed it, the Pats would have gotten the ball at the 47 with plenty of time left for a game-winning TD. Once he made it, the game was over though, and the Pats obliged Bears bettors by shrewdly opting for the field goal once in range and losing by six instead of two.