Justin Fields threw for 179 yards and ran for 82 yards and the Bear’s defence forced Patriots star Mack Jones to lead Chicago to a 33-14 victory over New England on Monday night.
In the quarterfinals of the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Fields led Alabama ahead of Jones, who defeated Ohio State’s Fields. Field, however, finished ahead of Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe, who returned after Jones had only two three-and-out carries and missed three games with a high ankle sprain.
The New England Patriots, a fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky, hit back-to-back touchdowns to take a 14-10 lead. Fields said in action with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Herbert, then added a field goal to give the Bears (3-4) a 20-14 lead after Zappe fumbled in the last 2 minutes of the first half.
Bailey Zappe was 5 of 6 for 109 yards and was a joke in the first half. Secondly, he was 9 of 16 for 76 yards and two stops. Jones has finished 3 of 6 passes for 13 yards. Rhamondre Stephenson caught eight passes for 59 yards and rushed 11 times for 39 carries for the Patriots (3-4).
Photo by: Maddie Meyer
Fields ran 14 times for 82 yards and five first downs. David ran for 62 yards and Herbert did the same for Chicago, which has lost three games and four of five. The Bears got taken down eight straight to the Patriots and eight of nine defeats from New England 46-10 in the 1986 Super Bowl.
Patriots Lost
Outside of Zappa’s first two drives, he couldn’t move the ball with any rhythm or hold it, standing on the sideline as if wearing a helmet and waiting for the timed call to re-enter the game. Bears triple-header ground game. The switch QB looked talented from the start, with rookie Zappé sliding downfield with confidence and DeVante Parker making plays for the young signal caller. But after three performances, he destroyed the device and finally lost the order Zappe had given him in his pocket; his wrong choice destroyed the opportunity to come back. It didn’t help that the line accelerated faster than Stevenson or Harris overnight.
Defensively, the Pats’ lacklustre night was even more surprising. Despite having more flash than Matthew Judo (2.5 sacks), the QB doesn’t have an answer to keep down the field after breaking down outside the pocket. Their solution left a little to be desired in the red line where Montgomery and Herbert led.
Bears win
They finally figured out how to win the field. Like Daniel Jones and the giants, Chicago allowed the young QB to lean on his feet, and the signal-caller showed David Montgomery with an impressive impact, showing extra effort and elite vision in a vehicle designed for rushing attacks. Halil Herbert. In between, he dropped low enough to keep the Patriots on their toes, including Cole Kmet, who was crucial late. The Bears are, simply put, built to win old-school football, and they let their best athlete QB help them on Monday.
Matt also showed up for most of the night. Pick Jaquan Brisker on Mac Jones forced the turnover of New England’s QB, and after Zappa’s first touchdown, the unit got credit for Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris, who combined for a 40-yard pass to nullify the Pats’ typically strong one-two punch. to reduce movement minutes. Rock Smith’s groundout to pick up Zappe on fourth down sealed the deal, while Kyler Gordon’s INT sealed it.
The Critical moment
Down 17-14 with just 1:32 left in the first half, the Patriots had a chance to get it back from the 39. But Zappe to Meyers put the ball on the ground and Justin Jones recovered giving Chicago a bonus possession. After a quick field goal to Darnell Moon, the Bears extended their lead at halftime on a field goal and never looked back.
Match play of
Fields and Khalil Herbert deserve publicity for their hand-to-hand coordination on TD screens through drives, but rookie safety Jaquan Brisker is serious and shows his hands when he picks up Mac Jones.
