Patriots Pose Plenty of Problems for Bears

The Bears normally experience problems facing the New England Patriots anywhere, but especially on the road.

They've lost all four times they've been in New England, including a few routs.

It's the first time they've seen the Patriots in the post-Tom Brady era and they run into a young New England team on the rise now, particularly with their running attack and defense. The Patriots shut out a Detroit Lions offense ranked No. 1 in scoring at the time and then held Cleveland to 15 points last week.

There are plenty of mismatches they must worry about, but the biggest might be the coaching battle.

Bill Belichick can pass George Halas (324) in career victories to become No. 2 behind Don Shula (347) with a win and Bears coach Matt Eberflus is well aware of the Xs and Os experience edge the Patriots coach possesses.

"You've got to prepare for the different packages that they might bring on offense and certainly on defense they have a lot of personnel that they bring at you, and they put a lot of different guys on the field at certain times," Eberflus said. "They have a lot of different packages, so you've just got to be ready for everything. And obviously he's done a nice job with that over the years."

Nice job definitely doesn't quite describe six Super Bowl rings and nine appearances.

Here are the worst matchup problems the Bears have as they try to do what they haven't done since 2000 and beat the Patriots.

Bears WR Dante Pettis vs. CB Jack Jones

The really desired matchup will be if N'Keal Harry gets sufficient playing time to match up with Jones. Harry, being the former Patriots receiver, would be ideal for the national TV telecast if he makes his Bears debut. However, it's more likely Pettis who would get more time, especially after his big catch for a TD last week. Pettis delivered when he had been having problems for two games dropping the ball, a problem he really hadn't experienced early in the year. Pettis' strength is not necessarily speed, but route running. Jones is all the rage as the Patriots have had some injuries in the secondary. He stepped up and now has two interceptions, a forced fumble and recovery along with four pass deflections. He'd be giving away 7 inches to Harry, 4 inches to Pettis but it hasn't hurt him so far. The Auburn cornerback is 5-foot-9, 175 pounds but plays much bigger and is the highest-graded cornerback in the league by Pro Football Focus. DBs for New England need to be strong at man-to-man coverage and Jones has been to date.

TICKETS TO SEE JUSTIN FIELDS AND THE BEARS THROUGH SI TICKETS

Bears CB Kyler Gordon vs. WR Jakobi Meyers

The Patriots can put their best receiver anywhere and it wouldn't be a shock, but when he lines up in the slot he'll be facing the Bears rookie who is coming off his best game in the NFL. Meyers, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder, was a restricted free agent this year and he should be watched closely by the Bears because he could be on the unrestricted free agent market next spring. Meyers has 24 catches in four games, having missed two due to injury. He has had 95-yard and 111-yard games and averages 13.4 yards a catch. Gordon's improvement will be tested.

Bears T Larry Borom vs. Patriots DE Deatrich Wise Jr.

Wise has been around now six years but there is no doubt he has come into his own and is playing the best in his career. He has been named a team captain and he is currently ranked 19th among edge players by Pro Football Focus with an 82.3 grade. Wise has matched his career high with five sacks. At 6-foot-5, 275 pounds, he's also stout against the run. Borom starts his 15th game and has given up two sacks with three penalties committed. He has gradually improved and PFF has him graded 40th among league tackles at 67.1 but 17th at pass blocking (77.4). Is he up to challenging one of the league's hotter pass rushers?

Bears LB Roquan Smith vs. Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Stevenson is a big back (6-foot, 227 pounds) from Oklahoma, drafted in the fourth round and like the Bears' Khalil Herbert, he seems to be coming into his own in his second season. After running for 606 yards last year, he is averaging 5.1 yards a carry this season and the Patriots have no problem pounding the ball at teams with him and a group of backs. They are ranked 10th in rushing. It helps young quarterbacks like Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe to have the running game working and there's no doubt the Patriots have this in gear. Smith leads the NFL with 66 tackles but the impact plays expected of him this year from weakside linebacker haven't been there. He has only three tackles for loss. Two came in the same game when he had his only interception, against Houston. The Bears rank 29th against the run and it's difficult to rate Smith high when the team hasn't been able to stop the run.

Bears T Braxton Jones vs. Patriots DE Matthew Judon

Jones' benching has been a source of speculation at various spots on social media and analytics websites but Pro Football Focus has given him a solid start for a rookie tackle. His overall grade is 37th best among tackles, which puts him in the middle of the league. No one can complain about this from a fifth-round rookie. He does need to improve as a pass blocker as his about his skills so far, with some suggesting Riley Reiff should replace him. However, his pass blocking is ranked 62nd in the league. Facing Judon would be difficult considering the former Ravens pass rusher has averaged one sack per game and has 13 hits on the quarterback.

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