Patriots Live Blog: Pats Complete 51-23 Blowout Of Bears, Improve To 6-2 On Season
Final, 51-23 Patriots: It's all over. The Patriots played some stout defense and forced a turnover on downs, and Garoppolo came out in the victory formation for the kneeldown. Game over. And what a game.
Fourth quarter, 2:09, 51-23 Patriots: Another Gostkowski chip shot, and the Pats have topped the half-century mark. Whoa, nelly.
Fourth quarter, 3:24, 48-23 Patriots: The game is over, but nobody told Lamarr Houston. He just burst through the line and sacked Jimmy Garoppolo. Houston then popped up and celebrated as if he had just won the Super Bowl.
Tiny problem, though, and it's not that his team is losing by a thousand points. It's that he injured himself.
Houston is down on the turf, getting help from the trainers.
The lesson, kids: Don't celebrate when you're losing by a thousand points.
Fourth quarter, 5:16, 48-23 Patriots: It's essentially garbage time at Gillette, and there's not much sense in breaking down too much of the action. The players look to just be trying to not get injured out there, and who can blame them?
But the Bears did engineer a 10-play, 80-yard drive that ended with an Alshon Jeffery touchdown catch at the pylon. Matt Forte caught the two-point conversion, giving the Bears some points in an otherwise lost football game.
Jimmy Garoppolo is coming in for New England, as Tom Brady's day is done.
Fourth quarter, 9:59, 48-15: Kickers are people, too, and Stephen Gostkowski hasn't had too much action today. But he was called upon just now, and he drilled an easy 27-yard field goal to stretch the lead out to 33 points.
With a number of passes on that drive, Brady is now 30-for-35 for 354 yards and five touchdowns. You have to think his afternoon is over now.
End of third quarter, 45-15 Patriots: Brady keeps slinging it, hitting LaFell for an 11-yard gain, before Gray picked up four yards on the final play of the quarter.
It's all over but for the big lady singing, so we'll see how the Patriots approach the rest of this game. I'd guess Brady stays in for this drive and then gets comfy on the bench, but we've obviously seen him play much later into blowout wins. We shall see.
By the way, he is 27-for-31 for 314 yards and five touchdowns.
Third quarter, :54, 45-15 Patriots: The Bears have at least a little something to cheer about, as Martellus Bennett fought through a pass interference penalty by Brandon Browner to come up with a very impressive touchdown catch. Bennett was lying on his back when he reached up and grabbed Cutler's pass, and then Dante Rosario was wide open on the two-point conversion.
I'd say the Bears have life, but that would be too strong. Instead, I'll say the Bears have a little something positive after a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive.
Third quarter, 4:10, 45-7 Patriots: Hey, look! Ryan Allen is playing today, too!
The punter just came out for his first action of the afternoon after the Patriots' drive inexplicably didn't end in points. Weird!
Third quarter, 5:30, 45-7 Patriots: Here's your Gronk update -- he had some dehydration. His return is questionable. The Pats would be wise to keep that kid on the bench for the rest of the afternoon. He's done enough.
Third quarter, 6:28, 45-7 Patriots: The Bears had a little something going, as they drove down the field and converted a fourth-and-1. But as most things have for Chicago today, things fizzled out to end that drive.
Dominique Easley and Vince Wilfork combined for a sack of Cutler, the Patriots' third of the afternoon, and the New England offense takes over at their own 26-yard line.
Of note: Rob Gronkowski headed to the locker room with trainers after his touchdown. It didn't appear to be anything serious, but we'll have an update as soon as it's available.
Third quarter, 12:42, 45-7 Patriots: Ridiculous. Rob Gronkowski. Is. Ridiculous.
The unstoppable force is apparently functioning on all cylinders, as he came up with a catch over the middle on a third-and-4. He caught it at the Chicago 34-yard line before Ryan Mundy wrapped him up. Or so Mundy though. Gronkowski simply said "No. No you cannot tackle me," and shoved the defender to the turf. Gronk then found plenty of green in front of him, and he ran it in for a 46-yard touchdown.
Just ridiculous, all around.
Third quarter, 15:00, 38-7 Patriots: The second half begins with a touchback. The Pats have a first-and-10 at their own 20. Let's see how they come out with this giant lead.
End of second quarter, 38-7 Patriots: The second quarter ends with a deep heave by Cutler into traffic, and Darrelle Revis comes down with the football. It's his second pick of the season, and it was an appropriate way to end this half.
The 38 points allowed was a record-worst for the Bears franchise, and that locker room is going to be one scary place to be during this break.
Here are some absurd halftime stats for you:
Tom Brady: 18-for-21, 203 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
Rob Gronkowski: 8 receptions, 103 yards, 2 TDs
Brandon LaFell: 7 receptions, 88 yards, TD
Jonas Gray: 12 carries, 70 yards
And here's the other side:
Jay Cutler: 7-for-13, 66 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 fumble lost
We knew the Bears were in bad shape, but this is something else.
Second quarter, :55, 38-7 Patriots: Goodness. Gracious.
On the Bears' first play from the 20-yard line, Cutler was swarmed by a host of Patriot defenders and eventually lost the football. Rob Ninkovich fell on the loose ball, and because he was untouched, he got right up and ran it into the end zone. This has gone far past ugly for the Chicago Bears.
Second quarter, 1:07, 31-7 Patriots: One play, touchdown. Domination.
Taking over at the 9-yard line, Brady lofted a pass up the let side for LaFell, and the 6-foot-3 target went up and got it. This one is getting ugly, and quickly.
Second quarter, 1:12, 24-7 Patriots: It's just pure domination this afternoon. Akeem Ayers, making his Patriots debut, sacked Cutler on second down, and a personal foul on Kyle Long pushed the Bears back even farther. The Pats forced a punt, and Julian Edelman caught it on his own 34-yard line and returned it deep into Bears territory (the 19-yard-line). The Bears were called for holding on the play, too, and it's first-and-goal for the Patriots at the 9-yard line.
Second quarter, 1:52, 24-7 Patriots: I stand corrected. The play stands, and the Patriots lead 24-7.
I thought the ball moved when it hit the turf, and it looked pretty clear, but apparently it was not conclusive enough for the officiating crew. Well then.
That was a 10-play, 80-yard drive, another beauty for the Pats.
Second quarter, 1:52, 23-7 Patriots: Who else, but Rob Gronkowski?
Brady again lofted a pass to Gronk in the back left corner of the end zone, and Gronkowski came down with the TD. However, it looks on replay like the ball hit the ground and moved, so it'll likely come back after this replay review. Stay tuned...
Second quarter, 2:00, 17-7 Patriots: The New England offense, and particularly Tom Brady, looks simply unstoppable today.
They'll have a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line coming out of the two-minute warning, as Brady has engineered the 75-yard drive with relative ease. He hit Gronkowski in stride over the middle on a third-and-14 for a gain of 17 yards that really got the drive going, and he just connected with Brandon LaFell to get deep into Chicago territory.
The Patriots have to go with some passing plays here, as their goal-line running game has not been effective. Just about everything else they do has worked though, so you have to think either Gronkowski, Wright or LaFell will get some chances here.
Brady's currently 16-for-19 for 192 yards and two touchdowns. Perfect.
Second quarter, 5:32, 17-7 Patriots: The downward spiral appeared to continue for the Bears, as Cutler lofted a "what-the-heck" pass to Bennett that was intercepted by Devin McCourty. However, the Bears were bailed out by an illegal contact penalty on Browner, giving Chicago a first down and negating the turnover.
The Bears then put together a nice little drive, with Forte gaining 19 yards on the ground on the next play. The drive ended with Jamie Collins futilely chasing Forte, and Cutler lobbing an easy touchdown pass to his favorite target.
The interception there might have buried the Bears for the afternoon, but they made the most of their second chance and closed the gap to 10 points.
Second quarter, 8:09, 17-0 Patriots: Another drive, another score. The Patriots are running away with this one.
The play of this drive came on a third-and-18. Brady faced pressure so he stepped up in the pocket and sprinted to his right. Just as he got to the line of scrimmage he delivered a perfect strike to Rob Gronkowski at the 2-yard line. Gronk came down with the ball, and the Pats were in business.
After a short run by Vereen, Brady passed to Tim Wright, and the tight end hauled in the touchdown pass to stretch this lead to 17-0.
Gronk came up with a 16-yard completion earlier in the drive, and also of note was James White's heads-up play to recover the fumble after a bad center-QB exchange between Stork and Brady.
Second quarter, 13:36, 10-0 Patriots: Darrelle Revis broke up a second-down pass to Marshall, and Brandon Browner came up with a stop on third down, and once again the Bears punted. They have three drives today, and they've gained 37 total yards. This one came after all of that time to rest and game-plan, so it isn't exactly encouraging for Chicago.
First-and-10 for New England at their own 24-yard line after Amendola's 11-yard punt return.
Second quarter, 14:57, 10-0 Patriots: How's that for some trickery? The Pats sent out the field goal unit onto the field between quarters, but as the play was set, Tom Brady and the offense came running onto the field. The crowd went wild.
But then Gray was stuffed for a loss. However, the Patriots were called for a false start (a late call, which allowed the play to be run), moving the ball back to the 6-yard line. Gostkowski hit the chip shot, and they lead 10-0.
That drive was a monster, taking up 7:05 and going 68 yards on 17 plays.
End of first quarter, 7-0 Patriots: It was another impressive drive from the Patriots, as they passed and ran at will.
LaFell started it off with a 12-yard reception up the left sideline. Rob Gronkowski came up with a huge catch over the middle on a third down to move the chains, and Jonas Gray chewed up 17 yards on five carries.
On a third down inside the Chicago 10, Brady connected with Vereen on an out route to set up a first-and-goal. Vereen was stopped shy of the goal line on first down, Brady was stuffed just short of the goal line on second down, and with nine seconds left in the quarter, the Pats called a timeout to try to devise a plan for third down.
Coming out of that timeout, the Patriots handed to Gray up the middle, but he was stuffed.
The Pats have a decision to make, with a fourth-and-goal from the 1-inch line upcoming to start the second quarter. Go for it, or take the three points?
First quarter, 7:02, 7-0 Patriots: Another Chicago drive, another Chicago punt.
The Bears picked up one first down this time, as Jay Cutler found some running room to move the sticks past the 30, but the drive didn't get much farther than that. On third down, Cutler threw to Bennett, but Brandon Browner was all over the tight end, breaking up the pass and hauling down the big-bodied Bennett all in one motion. Browner's been active early, tightly covering Marshall on the earlier deep ball and perfectly timing this play on Bennett.
The short Chicago punt took a big bounce, and the Pats start their next drive at their own 27-yard line.
First quarter, 9:41, 7-0 Patriots: The Patriots wasted no time in getting out to an early lead.
On the the first play of the drive, Brady ran a play-action fake to Shane Vereen. Brandon LaFell made a great catch when Brady threw behind the receiver on a slant, picking up 19 yards. On the next play, Jonas Gray burst through the left side of the line and picked up 19 yards.
Gray then picked up 11 yards on the next two plays, and on a first-and-goal from the Chicago 6-yard line, Brady lofted a perfectly placed ball into the back left corner of the end zone to Rob Gronkowski. And you know that Rob Gronkowski is going to come down with that one.
And just like that, it's 7-0 Patriots.
First quarter, 12:03, 0-0: The Bears opened the game with a heavy dose of Matt Forte, and it was a great plan ... up until Martellus Bennett got called for holding. That penalty set up a second-and-19, and Cutler's deep ball to Brandon Marshall failed to connect on the ensuing play. On third-and-19, Jay Cutler simply threw the ball into the ground when the screen to Forte didn't develop.
Danny Amendola caught Chicago's punt at the New England 41-yard line, and the Pats will start their first drive at their own 45-yard line.
First quarter, 15:00: The Patriots won the coin toss and elected to defer -- no surprise there.
Stephen Gostkowski's opening kickoff, from the open end of the stadium into the closed end, sailed through the end zone, and it's a touchback. The Bears will start on their own 20.
12:53 p.m.: Less than 10 minutes until kickoff. Gear up for football.
11:35 a.m.: The inactive lists have been released. First, the Patriots:
OL Jordan Devey
CB Alfonzo Dennard
OL Cameron Fleming
S Nate Ebner
WR Aaron Dobson
OL Chris Barker
DE Chandler Jones
The big news there is that Aaron Dobson is once again inactive. Wild, baseless speculation would say perhaps he'd be involved in some sort of pre-deadline trade for a wide receiver, and the Patriots want to ensure that he remains healthy. But more realistically, it's likely due to performance, as Dobson has shown up on this list multiple times already this season. It's also noteworthy that Alfonzo Dennard won't be playing. That will likely mean more playing time for Brandon Browner.
And the other bit of big news comes in the names that are not on the list: Dan Connolly and Bryan Stork. Those two have been instrumental in the games when Tom Brady has had his best protection, and they both are ready to go today. Jordan Devey will be the odd man out.
Akeem Ayers, who was acquired earlier this week, will be making his Patriots debut.
And now, the Bears:
CB Terrance Mitchell
S Danny McCray
S Ahmad Dixon
LB Lance Briggs
LB Jon Bostic
T Jordan Mills
T Charles Leno
10:30 a.m.: The sun is shining in New England, and it is a glorious day for football.
Of course, any day is a good day for football, but today the Patriots will be hosting the Chicago Bears in a game that figures to be awfully important for both sides.
The Bears are hoping to hit the brakes on their current skid, while the Patriots hope to keep alive their winning streak and pick up a much-needed victory before the schedule really gets tough.
As always, it'll be a fascinating matchup, and from pregame warmups to the inactive lists, from the opening kickoff to the final whistle, we'll have every single update right here in the live blog. Stick with us throughout the morning and afternoon for everything you need to know from this inter-conference matchup at Gillette Stadium.
In the meanwhile, check out some pregame reading:
What To Watch For: Matt Forte, Tom Brady Pitted Against Each Other As Duel Threats
Socci's Notebook: Able To Run (And Catch), Bears' Forte No Longer Hides Among Game's Best
Tom Brady Takes On A 'Bear' Before Sunday's Game
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here, or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
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