Nine Takeaways From the Patriots Disappointing Loss to the Bears

Zappe entered the game and made two aggressive-minded decisions to complete passes downfield, including a well-placed jump ball to DeVante Parker down the left sideline. With the defense in man coverage with a single-high safety, the rookie gave Parker a chance to elevate above the defender and make a terrific contested catch.

However, as the game got away from the Patriots, the training wheels needed to come off for Zappe to lead a comeback. When you fall behind, play-action becomes a non-factor since defenses are willing to concede the run. Once it became a traditional drop-back passing game, we saw four tipped passes at the line, two interceptions, and a few tighter-window opportunities downfield that Zappe didn’t have the velocity to fit the ball into open receivers by NFL standards.

To make a case for the first-year QB as the long-term starter, Zappe didn’t make the same head-scratching decisions as Jones and had the right idea on most throws. But when the coaching staff can’t hide his warts with play-calling, you see his limitations emerge.

5. Bears QB Justin Fields’s Scrambling Ability Disrupts Patriots Pass Defense

Another takeaway from speaking to players after the game was that Fields’s scrambling ability caused breakdowns in New England’s pass-rush plan and made the pass-rush timid.

“A guy like that just destroyed the whole third-down defense. Some guys had a good rush but are almost scared to rush now because this guy is going to break down and run the ball to get a first down,” Godchaux said.

Patriots top pass-rusher Matthew Judon also described the Pats pass rush as “timid” because of Fields’s athleticism’s effect on the game.

As we see too often in matchups against mobile quarterbacks, the Patriots played most of the game in zone coverage to keep all 11 defenders’ eyes on the quarterback in case Fields took off running. However, with the four-man pass rush afraid to pin their ears back, it leads to too many instances where Fields and other running QBs…