Caleb Williams leads Bears past Patriots

Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns in his second game back from a hamstring injury. Cairo Santos buried the winner, a 58-yard field goal with 1:34 left, and the Bears beat the Patriots 30-24 at Soldier Field on Thursday night. Read more: Caleb Williams leads Bears past Patriots

The win pushed Chicago to 5-2. New England, which had also entered the week at 4-2, dropped to 4-3. Williams finished 22 of 33 for a 116.7 passer rating, the first Bears quarterback since Mitch Trubisky in 2018 to throw for 300 yards in back-to-back games.

Chicago built a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. New England was driving in the second quarter when D'Marco Jackson intercepted Drake Maye in the end zone. Luther Burden turned the Bears' next possession into a 24-yard touchdown catch, making it 20-7 with 14 seconds left in the half; he finished with four catches for 130 yards. New England answered on the final play of the half, Rhamondre Stevenson hauling in a 48-yard touchdown, to make it 20-14 at the break.

Drake Maye matched Williams for much of the night, finishing 24 of 31 for 321 yards, two touchdowns and a 117.8 rating. Colston Loveland's 12-yard touchdown catch opened the third quarter and made it 27-14, and Maye answered with a 30-yard strike to Eli Raridon that pulled New England to 27-21.

Santos missed from 53 yards in the fourth quarter with Chicago still clinging to that lead. Given another shot with 1:34 remaining, he drilled a 58-yarder, a career long that matched the franchise record Robbie Gould set in 2013, and the Bears led 30-21.

Maye drove New England into range for a 47-yard Andy Borregales field goal with 37 seconds left. It cut the lead to 30-24 and forced an onside kick. Rome Odunze fell on the ball, and the Patriots never got another possession. Chicago, now 5-2, next plays at Seattle on Nov. 2, a Monday night game at Lumen Field.

First home game since Ditka

It was Chicago's first home game since Mike Ditka died on Oct. 9 at age 86, and the crowd of 60,520 stood for a moment of silence before the national anthem. Fans received fake mustaches at the gates. A stencil honoring the Hall of Fame tight end and coach was cut into the turf, and his No. 89 jersey hung in the stands all night.

Tight end Cole Kmet was carted off late with a knee injury. Earlier in the game, he had passed 3,000 career receiving yards, a milestone only Ditka had reached before him among Bears tight ends.

The tribute left Soldier Field hushed before kickoff, 60,520 strong. By the time Rome Odunze fell on the onside kick that ended it, the stadium was anything but.