This past Sunday, the New England Patriots looked to jump to 4-2 after their Week Six battle against the New York Jets. While the Jets’ defense made an efficient effort on their end, it wasn’t enough as the Patriots took a 26-19 win at home. That makes three straight wins for New England, who, after some tough losses in Week One and Three, seem to have found their stride. Now, the Patriots will have a short week ahead of them as they’ll get ready to gear up for Thursday Night Football as they’ll take on the 4-2 Chicago Bears for the first matchup of Week Seven.
New England’s Week Six matchup against New York saw the return of wide receiver A.J. Brown, who had three receptions for 27 yards after being targeted 10 times. On Monday, the Patriots announced the news that receiver Romeo Doubs will be placed on the IR due to a shoulder injury. This gives New England’s quarterback Drake Maye one less reliable weapon, and with Brown’s slow start against the Jets, the Patriots have to worry about whether the three-time Pro Bowl receiver is negatively affecting the team’s offense. The Patriots’ defense struggled against the Jets’ run game in the first half but completely dominated them in the second half, plus cornerback Charles Woods snagged Geno Smith’s first interception of the season.
For the Bears, quarterback Caleb Williams returned this past Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons after missing three games with a torn hamstring. The 24-year-old threw for 305 passing yards and a touchdown in a 31-23 win. Although Chicago won two out of three games without Williams, the Bears certainly missed what the 24-year-old can do for their offense. Finally, after nearing his 2026 debut, Chicago’s 26-year-old cornerback Kyler Gordon came up big, finishing with four tackles, three sacks, and two forced fumbles. Even with the NFC North Division looking like the most stacked division in the NFL this season, the Bears are holding their own.
This game will come down to a few factors. The first being whether Maye and the Patriots’ offense can find consistent success even with all the injuries to the offensive line and losing Doubs. Our second factor for this Thursday Night Football matchup is both teams’ defenses. If Maye can find success, it’s whether Chicago’s defense can shut him down in key moments; same for the Patriots with Williams. Both teams’ defenses are top-10 defenses this season, with New England being ranked sixth and Chicago seventh. The Bears and Patriots defenses will have to step up, especially when both opponents’ offenses are looking to stay hot and ride the momentum from their Week Six win.
If we’re looking at which teams played the tougher opponents thus far in 2026, it would have to be the Patriots. They faced the defending Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks and lost, then lost in Week Three to the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars, then bounced back the following week to defeat the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills. New England crushed a Pittsburgh Steelers team, who currently sit at 4-2, and then obliterated the Las Vegas Raiders in Week Five, a team that started off the season 3-0. However, we’ve seen Williams and the Bears offense explode for 59 points in Week One against the NFC South-leading Carolina Panthers. In his first game back from injury, Williams helped Chicago score 31 points. The offensive prowess Chicago possesses is scary, and New England’s defense will have to do everything it can to prevent that in the Windy City. I think both offenses will light up, but again, it will all come down to the big plays on defense. New England takes a 34-31 win on the road in Chicago to give them their fourth straight win a boatload of momentum heading into their Week Eight matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
