Instant Reactions: Bears offense shut down at home by struggling Patriots

Wow.

Caleb Williams was sacked nine times by a New England Patriots defense that entered Sunday ranked 29th in the NFL with 16 sacks.

That’ll happen with Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright ruled out with injuries on Friday and when Teven Jenkins leaves the action in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

Behind an offensive line consisting of just one opening-day starter (Coleman Shelton), Williams never stood a chance. Sunday at home against the Patriots became the first time since 1993 that the Bears allowed six or more sacks in back-to-back games.

Sunday also marked the end of Chicago’s league-best home winning streak at nine.

Two weeks after the heartbreak in Washington and one week removed from a throttling at the hands of the Cardinals in the desert, the outside noise has never been louder, especially only after Week 10.

At 4-5, there are plenty of questions facing the Chicago Bears. Who can answer them?

Patriots 19, Bears 3

Nicholas Moreano

Not even Soldier Field could save the Bears from themselves. Shane Waldron’s offense looked absolutely lost against one of the worst defenses in the league. The unit failed to score a single touchdown and punted eight times. This type of performance should result in some kind of change. It doesn’t matter that only one of the five original starters on the offensive line finished the game in the eventual 19-3 loss to the Patriots. Shane Waldron needs to go, and it’s hard to envision a scenario that involves Matt Eberflus being retained as the head coach. But if nothing happens, it wouldn’t surprise me as it shows the team is content with this losing brand of football.

Greg Braggs Jr.

Fire everyone. That’s it. End of story.

Patrick Norton

Caleb Williams is not having a good time. The dynamic duo of Matt Eberflus and Shane Waldron simply is not beneficial to the rookie quarterback’s development in the NFL. It’s never happened in Chicago, but a mid-season change at head coach could be on the horizon based solely on how deflated the Bears looked against a poor Patriots team. But who in the world would you trust to take the reins for the final eight games of the season?

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