
Bears beat the Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night as Caleb Williams throws for 308
Caleb Williams threw two touchdown passes and Cairo Santos hit a 58-yard field goal as Chicago held off New England at Soldier Field. Luther Burden III caught four passes for 130 yards and the Bears moved to 5-2.
By Beat Chuck NFL Desk / 2 sources / Published October 23, 2026
The Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night at Soldier Field. Caleb Williams completed 22 of 33 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and Cairo Santos kicked a 58-yard field goal with 1:34 left to put Chicago up two scores. The Bears are 5-2. The Patriots fall to 4-3, and their three-game winning streak is over.
It was Williams' second game back from a right hamstring injury, and his second straight 300-yard game. The AP recap on ESPN says he is the first Bears quarterback to do that in consecutive games since Mitch Trubisky in 2018.
How it went
Chicago scored on its first two drives of the game, a 43-yard Santos field goal and a 4-yard D'Andre Swift run, to lead 10-0. Drake Maye answered with a 7-yard touchdown run that was ruled short on the field and overturned on replay. Maye later threw an interception in the end zone to D'Marco Jackson with the Patriots driving, the only turnover of the night.
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Burden made it 20-7 with 14 seconds left in the half, taking a screen on third-and-17 for a 24-yard score. New England got those points back on the last play of the half, when Rhamondre Stevenson slipped out of the backfield and ran under a 48-yard touchdown from Maye. ESPN noted the Bears sent six rushers on that play and on Eli Raridon's 30-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
Colston Loveland's 12-yard touchdown catch put Chicago up 27-14, and Raridon's score cut it to 27-21. Santos missed from 53 yards early in the fourth. With 4:59 left and the Bears backed up at their own 10, Williams hit Rome Odunze for 21 yards on third-and-9 to keep the drive alive, and Santos finished it with the longest field goal of his career. The AP said it matched the franchise record.
Maye drove the Patriots into range for Andy Borregales' 47-yard field goal with 37 seconds left. Odunze recovered the onside kick to end it.
The numbers
Burden caught all four of his targets for 130 yards, including a 58-yarder. Loveland had seven catches for 69 yards on 12 targets, and Odunze had four for 69. Swift ran 22 times for 78 yards. Chicago went 3 for 4 in the red zone and outgained New England 405-380.
Maye finished 24 of 31 for 321 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and ran four times for 26 yards. Stevenson had five catches for 93 yards, Hunter Henry had seven for 71 and Raridon three for 56. The Bears sacked Maye twice.
Bears tight end Cole Kmet left on a cart after hurting his right knee on a catch late in the fourth quarter and was ruled out, according to ESPN. Cornerback Malik Muhammad left in the third with a toe injury.
The Bears honored Mike Ditka in their first home game since his death on Oct. 9, with a moment of silence and fake mustaches handed out to the crowd of 60,520.
What to watch: an update on Kmet's knee. Chicago plays at Seattle on Monday night, Nov. 2, and New England visits Miami on Nov. 1.
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