Luther Burden Looked Like the Star New England Thought It Was Getting in A.J. Brown

Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears (5-2) defeated Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (4-3) 30-24 at Soldier Field on October 22, 2026, as Luther Burden III’s 130-yard performance helped Chicago secure its third straight victory on a night honoring legendary coach Mike Ditka.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NE 0 14 7 3 24
CHI 10 10 7 3 30

On a night honoring legendary Bears coach Mike Ditka, Luther Burden III gave Soldier Field plenty to celebrate. The second-year receiver exploded for 130 yards on just four catches, including a 58-yard gain that set up D’Andre Swift’s opening touchdown and a 24-yard score that helped Chicago build a 20-7 lead. New England answered with a stunning 48-yard Rhamondre Stevenson touchdown as halftime expired, but Caleb Williams refused to surrender control. He finished with 308 passing yards and two touchdowns, finding Colston Loveland for a third-quarter score. Rome Odunze contributed 69 receiving yards, Swift rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown, and Cairo Santos drilled a 58-yard field goal to help secure the victory. Chicago’s defense also delivered, with D’Marco Jackson intercepting Drake Maye and Kyler Gordon recording a crucial fourth-down sack.

Maye actually played well, throwing for 321 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score despite New England’s injury-depleted offensive line. Stevenson contributed 93 receiving yards, Hunter Henry added 71, and Eli Raridon caught a 30-yard touchdown. Unfortunately, A.J. Brown continues looking like a first-round investment with seventh-round production. After dropping three passes against the Jets, the former All-Pro followed with just three catches for 48 yards on six targets. New England didn’t surrender premium draft capital for Brown to spend another nationally televised game watching younger receivers steal the spotlight. His recent ankle injury deserves consideration, but the Patriots need more than reputation from their supposed No. 1 receiver, especially with Romeo Doubs sidelined. New England still produced 380 yards, but 70 rushing yards, an end-zone interception and poor third-down execution helped end its three-game winning streak.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat New England Patriots Chicago Bears
Final Score 24 30
Total Offensive Yards 380 405
Passing Yards 310 289
Rushing Yards 70 116
Total Plays 50 66
Yards Per Play 7.6 6.1
First Downs 20 21
Third Downs 2-7 4-12
Third-Down % 28.6% 33.3%
Fourth Downs 0-1 2-2
Passing TDs 2 2
Rushing TDs 1 1
Total Offensive TDs 3 3
Turnovers 1 0
Interceptions Thrown 1 0
Fumbles Lost 0 0
Sacks Allowed 2 3
Penalties 10 9
Penalty Yards 71 69
Time of Possession 27:36 32:24

Passing

New England Patriots

  1. Drake Maye — 24/31, 77.4%, 321 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INT, 10.4 YPA, 2 SACK, 117.8 RTG

Chicago Bears

  1. Caleb Williams — 22/33, 66.7%, 308 YDS, 2 TD, 0 INT, 9.3 YPA, 3 SACK, 116.7 RTG

Rushing

New England Patriots

  1. Drake Maye — 4 CAR, 26 YDS, 6.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 15
  2. Rhamondre Stevenson — 6 CAR, 22 YDS, 3.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 13

Chicago Bears

  1. D’Andre Swift — 22 CAR, 78 YDS, 3.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 10
  2. Caleb Williams — 5 CAR, 18 YDS, 3.6 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 9

Receiving

New England Patriots

  1. Rhamondre Stevenson — 5 REC, 5 TGT, 93 YDS, 18.6 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 48
  2. Hunter Henry — 7 REC, 7 TGT, 71 YDS, 10.1 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16
  3. Eli Raridon — 3 REC, 4 TGT, 56 YDS, 18.7 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 30
  4. A.J. Brown — 3 REC, 6 TGT, 48 YDS, 16.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 18
  5. DeMario Douglas — 3 REC, 4 TGT, 23 YDS, 7.7 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16

Chicago Bears

  1. Luther Burden III — 4 REC, 4 TGT, 130 YDS, 32.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 58
  2. Colston Loveland — 7 REC, 12 TGT, 69 YDS, 9.9 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 22
  3. Rome Odunze — 4 REC, 5 TGT, 69 YDS, 17.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 21
  4. Cole Kmet — 3 REC, 3 TGT, 28 YDS, 9.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 14
  5. D’Andre Swift — 4 REC, 4 TGT, 12 YDS, 3.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 11

Scoring Plays

Qtr Clock Team Play Score
Q1 9:53 Chicago Bears Cairo Santos 43-yard field goal NE 0, CHI 3
Q1 1:38 Chicago Bears D’Andre Swift 4-yard run (Cairo Santos kick) NE 0, CHI 10
Q2 11:33 New England Patriots Drake Maye 7-yard run (Andy Borregales kick) NE 7, CHI 10
Q2 7:04 Chicago Bears Cairo Santos 31-yard field goal NE 7, CHI 13
Q2 0:14 Chicago Bears Luther Burden III 24-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Cairo Santos kick) NE 7, CHI 20
Q2 0:00 New England Patriots Rhamondre Stevenson 48-yard pass from Drake Maye (Andy Borregales kick) NE 14, CHI 20
Q3 9:41 Chicago Bears Colston Loveland 12-yard pass from Caleb Williams (Cairo Santos kick) NE 14, CHI 27
Q3 3:46 New England Patriots Eli Raridon 30-yard pass from Drake Maye (Andy Borregales kick) NE 21, CHI 27
Q4 1:34 Chicago Bears Cairo Santos 58-yard field goal NE 21, CHI 30
Q4 0:37 New England Patriots Andy Borregales 47-yard field goal NE 24, CHI 30

Defense

New England Patriots

  1. Marcus Jones — 9 TOT, 5 SOLO, 2 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  2. Christian Elliss — 13 TOT, 8 SOLO, 1 TFL, 2 QBH
  3. Craig Woodson — 8 TOT, 5 SOLO, 1 PD
  4. Christian Barmore — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  5. Leonard Taylor III — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  6. Kevin Byard — 7 TOT, 3 SOLO
  7. Robert Spillane — 6 TOT, 2 SOLO
  8. Charles Woods — 5 TOT, 2 SOLO
  9. Christian Gonzalez — 4 TOT, 3 SOLO
  10. Milton Williams — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL

Chicago Bears

  1. Kyler Gordon — 5 TOT, 3 SOLO, 2 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH
  2. D’Marco Jackson — 6 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 INT, 1 PD
  3. Dillon Thieneman — 7 TOT, 3 SOLO, 0.5 SACK, 1 QBH
  4. Daniel Hardy — 4 TOT, 1 SOLO, 0.5 SACK, 2 QBH
  5. Malik Muhammad II — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 PD
  6. Tyrique Stevenson Sr. — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 PD
  7. Cam Lewis — 5 TOT, 3 SOLO
  8. Grady Jarrett — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 2 QBH
  9. Devin Bush — 4 TOT, 4 SOLO
  10. Jamree Kromah — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 TFL

Kick Returns

New England Patriots

  1. Corey Kiner — 4 KR, 102 YDS, 25.5 AVG, LONG 29, 0 TD

Chicago Bears

  1. Zavion Thomas — 3 KR, 92 YDS, 30.7 AVG, LONG 47, 0 TD

Punt Returns

New England Patriots

  1. Marcus Jones — 1 PR, 19 YDS, 19.0 AVG, LONG 19, 0 TD

Chicago Bears

  1. Kalif Raymond — 1 PR, 7 YDS, 7.0 AVG, LONG 7, 0 TD
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