Patriots-Bears Live Blog: Pats Beat Bears 23-22
BOSTON (CBS) -- Follow along for all the updates from Patriots-Bears at Gillette Stadium!
Final: Patriots 23, Bears 22
That's it for preseason football at Gillette this summer, as the Patriots beat the Bears 23-22. The defense gave up a garbage time hail mary, which will have Belichick and Matt Patricia fuming, but it was an overall impressive night for the Patriots and Jimmy Garoppolo.
He made up for a slow start, finishing 16-for-21 with 181 yards and a touchdown. He made a few mistakes with his arm, but the good far outweighed the bad.
Tight end A.J. Derby was impressive, catching six of the seven passes that came his way for 71 yards and a touchdown. The running backs were much better than last week as well, with 109 yards on the ground, led by Blount's 69 yards on 11 carries.
The defense was impressive once again, allowing just a field goal over the final three quarters of the game before that garbage score at the end. Rookie Cyrus Jones had a nice interception, and was also solid in the return game on special teams.
We'll be breaking this one down all night on CBSBostonsports.com, and be sure to catch all the postgame reaction and analysis on both WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub.
Up next for the Patriots is the Carolina Panthers next Friday.
4th Quarter, 1:38: Rufus Johnson is making his case to make the roster with a handful of nice defensive plays in the second half, showing off his nose for the ball. He has four tackles on the night with a pass deflection as well.
4th Quarter, 2:37: Brissett did some nice dancing on third-and-19 after the pocket collapsed, but was only able to get back to the line of scrimmage. The Pats had to punt it away, with the Bears now taking over at their own 12.
4th Quarter, 4:25: Brissett delivered a pretty deep pass to Lucien into the end zone, but the receiver butterfingered it. It wouldn't have mattered anyways, as Lucien was flagged for offensive PI, but still a really nice throw by Brissett.
That play certainly won't help Lucien's cause for making the team.
4th Quarter, 6:47 -- Patriots 23, Bears 14
The Bears have scored! Gould boots a 36-yarder to cap off a seven-play drive, cutting New England's lead to eight.
New England's third down defense left a lot to be desired, giving up a 23-yard Boyer-Bellamy connection on a third-and-6.
4th Quarter, 9:05: Brissett led Devin Lucien a little too much to the sideline on a deep pass on third-and-9, forcing a Patriots punt.
A false start on first down didn't help the drive, but Brissett did hit Nate Washington for eight yards on second down. Nice to see the vet get involved after missing time at the start of camp.
4th Quarter, 9:56: It wasn't a perfect series for the Patriots defense, but they held when they had to.
Facing a fourth-and-goal, Hoyer scrambled and found nothing in the end zone thanks to the Patriots secondary, forcing him to throw it away. The Pats will take over on the Chicago 10.
The D did give up one giant play thanks to missed tackles by Jordan Richards and Cedric Thompson, allowing Rob Housler to scamper for 52 yards to the New England 6.
End of 3rd Quarter -- Patriots 23, Bears 11
Nothing doing for the Patriots offense, as Brissett was sacked for an 8-yard loss on third down to complete a three-and-out.
But Vinnie Sunseri made a great play on Ryan Allen's 46-yard punt, as he quickly got to Chicago's David Braverman and brought him down for a 3-yard loss.
3rd Quarter, 2:12: Another three-and-out for the Bears, who haven't had a first down since the first quarter.
3rd Quarter, 3:14 -- Patriots 23, Bears 11
The Patriots left a few plays on the field after a promising start to the drive, but Gostkowski added another field goal to make it 23 unanswered points for New England.
Brissett went 4-for-5 for 50 yards on the 11-play drive.
3rd Quarter, 6:04: Brissett and Derby hooked up again on third-and-11, this time over the middle of the field, but Derby ran his yard about a yard short of moving the chains. But that just gave Belichick a chance to teach some situational football, as Joey Iosefa picked up two yards for the first down.
3rd Quarter, 7:34: AJ Derby just made a beautiful 26-yard reception just along the sideline on third down to move the Pats to the Chicago 38. Great throw by Brissett, even better leaping grab by Derby.
3rd Quarter, 9:17: Brian Hoyer is having a real tough night at Gillette. He tried to scramble on second-and-8, nearly getting killed by Cre'Von LeBlanc, and then threw behind his intended target on third down as the Bears go three-and-out.
Jacoby Brissett is now taking over under center, so Garoppolo finishes his night 16-for-21 for 181 yards and a touchdown. He looked better than last week, and displayed the kind of progression you want to see from him.
Garopplo is also going to have a week to think about his last pass of the night, which isn't a bad thing.
3rd Quarter, 10:40 -- Patriots 20, Bears 11
There was a lot of good Jimmy on that drive, but it finished with some bad Jimmy.
First the good, as Garoppolo went 3-for-4 for 29 yards, including a beautiful 25-yard connection with Chris Hogan in which he hit the receiver in stride. But the drive ended with a very bad decision by the QB, as he was almost picked by linebacker John Timu on a bad pass that didn't have much of a chance at finding its target (James White over the middle).
So the Patriots settle for a 29-yarder from Stephen Gostkowski.
3rd Quarter, 15:00: Jimmy Garoppolo is back out there for the second half.
And Marcus Cannon gets whistled for a false start on the first play. Yuck.
Halftime -- Patriots 17, Bears 11
After a slow start, Jimmy G and the offense are dealing now. Garoppolo hit tight end A.J. Derby in the end zone from 16 yards out to give the Patriots their first lead of the evening. Garoppolo had plenty of time on the two-point conversion, and hit Hogan in the end zone to put New England up 17-11.
The drive covered 57 yards in seven plays, as the Pats head to the half with the lead. That's 17 unanswered points for the New England offense, with a lot of help from the defense.
2nd Quarter, :35: Garoppolo is in a bit of a groove now, hitting Chris Hogan in stride over the middle for a nice 20-yard pickup.
2nd Quarter, 1:42: The Patriots get another shot at the end zone, and Jimmy gets a nice two-minute drill, as the D forces a quick 3-and-out. Anthony Johnson had some nice pressure on Hoyer on third down.
2nd Quarter, 2:55 -- Bears 11, Patriots 9
After an incomplete bid to AJ Derby, Garoppolo hit James White with a short pass that turned into a 14-yard gain down to the Chicago 1. Blount bowled his way into the end zone to cut into Chicago's lead.
New England's two-point attempt by Bolden failed, but the Pats have to feel pretty good about their D setting up the offense.
2nd Quarter, 3:44: The Patriots D has the offense eyeing the end zone again, thanks to an interception by rookie Cyrus Jones.
Jones picked off Brian Hoyer at Chicago 29, jumping receiver Josh Bellamy's route for the interception. A nice 14-yard return has Garoppolo and company set up in the red zone.
2nd Quarter, 3:52 -- Bears 11, Patriots 3
The Patriots put together a decent drive, but had to settle for a field goal after getting down to the Chicago 2-yard line.
Tyler Gaffney got three straight runs after Garoppolo hit Bennett for 20 yards down to the Chicago 3, but he couldn't punch it in. Gaffney did run for 25 yards on the drive, but was hit for a yard loss on a third down run.
2nd Quarter, 9:10: At least the defense came to play after the turnover. Tre' Flowers continues to impress as he and Anthony Johnson sack Cutler on third-and-5.
The Pats will take over near midfield after a six-yard punt return by Cyrus Jones.
2nd Quarter, 11:19: A nice 83-yard drive ends in disappointment, as Bolden fumbles at the Bears' 3-yard line. Tracy Porter stripped the back and scooped up the loose ball and the Bears take over at their own 5-yard line.
With the running back job wide open, that won't help Bolden's chances. Extremely frustrating start for the Patriots offense tonight.
2nd Quarter, 13:09: The Patriots took advantage of a crossed up Bears D, with Garoppolo hitting a wide open Brandon Bolden out of the backfield for 17 yards down to the Chicago 18. Former Bear Martellus Bennett was also wide open on the play.
2nd Quarter, 14:24: A good start to the second quarter for New England, as LeGarrette Blount made something out of nothing and ran for 21 yards to the Chicago 46.
1st Quarter, 2:33 -- Bears 11, Patriots 0
A very sloppy drive for the Patriots defense, as the Bears march down the field and cap off an 11 play, 64-yard scoring drive with a 5-yard touchdown run from Jeremy Langford.
Cutler hit Tony Moeaki on a key third-and-11, getting the 11 yards in front of Patrick Chung before the tight end went out of bounds at the New England 39. A pair of third-down penalties by New England helped the Bears, who easily converted the two-point conversion with a Cutler pass to tight end Rob Housler.
Pats offense needs to do something here.
1st Quarter, 7:45: That was quick for Jimmy and company.
Blount rushed for 8 yards on the first two downs, but Garoppolo couldn't connect with Aaron Dobson on third-and-2 to force a three-and-out by the Patriots offense. The throw was a little behind Dobson, but it's a catch he should have made. There is work to be done by both players on that play.
No fast start for Jimmy tonight, which is something he was looking for this week.
1st Quarter, 8:59 -- Bears 3, Patriots 0
Jay Cutler had his way with the New England secondary for much of the drive, but the Patriots' Anthony Johnson tipped a third down bid of his and the Bears had to settle for a field goal on their first drive of the game.
Cutler had some big passes, hitting Alshon Jeffery for 29 yards against Justin Coleman on an early second-and-5. He went back to Jeffery, over Coleman again, for another 12 yards the very next play, and finished the drive 5-for-6 for 63 yards.
But then a few penalties set Chicago back, and Johnson tipped his third down bid at the line (which could have been snagged by Patrick Chung) to force the field goal.
Robbie Gould (an undrafted free agent signee by the Patriots in another lifetime) booted a 36-yard field goal to put Chicago up 3-0.
So now Tom Br.... Jimmy Garoppolo will try to lead the offense down the field.
7:59 p.m.: Here's some news on someone who will play tonight. We'll get our first look at wide receiver Chris Hogan, who was brought in this offseason.
7:32 p.m.: Well now, things change quickly down at Gillette.
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft was just asked on 98.5 The Sports Hub if Tom Brady will play tonight.
"I don't believe so," Kraft replied.
So there you have it. Brady was later seen heading to the player's parking lot.
We'll know for sure in a few minutes whether or not Brady will play, but it certainly seems like he's sitting this one out.
7:16 p.m.: Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are not on the field for warmups, so those two are unlikely to play tonight.
Also worth noting is the absence of Tom Brady, who has yet to start warming up. But Bill Belichick told Scott Zolak on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Patriots Preview" that we'll "see all three quarterbacks tonight."
It should be noted that the interview was taped, so things could have changed between now and then. Stay tuned...
6:18 p.m.: The Patriots and Bears will square off in preseason game No. 2 at Gillette Stadium, and Patriots fans in attendance will get a little bit of a treat.
On a perfect night for football, Pats fans will get to see quarterback Tom Brady take the field, as he will reportedly start the game as he gets his first preseason action of the summer.
Brady did not take a snap last week in New England's preseason debut against the Saints, and wasn't at Gillette as he attended a memorial service for a family member. In 16 days, Brady will have to step away from the team and serve his four-game DeflateGate suspension. Thursday night will be his last chance to play in front of home fans until October 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals, with New England's final two preseason games on the road and Brady's first game back from the suspension coming in Week 5 in Cleveland.
It's a curious move, since Jimmy Garoppolo needs to get as many reps as he can this preseason before starting the first four games of the regular season. It doesn't feel like the best move for the team, as there really isn't much to gain with Brady out there, but it could just be the Patriots letting Brady play in front of the home fans.
Brady played three series in the Patriots' second preseason game last year, taking nine snaps against the New Orleans Saints.
What remains unknown is if Julian Edelman will suit up. The receiver hurt his foot back on August 8, but looked good in joint practices against the Bears this week, making defenders look silly on several occasions.
Along the defensive line, Jabaal Sheard and Shea McClellin will both miss the contest with injuries, while Alan Branch won't be playing after reportedly being suspended by the team. We'll bring you more inactives as we get closer to game time.
Stick with CBSBostonsports.com for all the updates throughout Thursday night's preseason tilt, and tune in to the game on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV. Kickoff is set for 8pm.
