Chicago Bears: 5 things to watch against the New England Patriots

The Chicago Bears will be on national television again. Apologies in advance to America. This time it is a Monday Night Football matchup against the New England Patriots.

The last time the Chicago Bears played at Foxboro the Patriots won 51-23. It was such a blowout that New England scored 21 points in less than a minute.

That was when quarterback Tom Brady was still with New England. Legendary head coach Bill Belichick is still around and you can bet after the debacle the Bears had two Thursdays ago, he will have a game plan in place to get another blowout victory.

The Chicago Bears’ chances of winning are not great. The main reason is the Bears’ offense continues to sputter.

The Chicago Bears rank dead last in the NFL in passing and are 30th in scoring. The other reason is the Bears’ run defense ranks 31st at stopping at the run. New England loves to run the football.

It might be a long night but there are a few things to keep an eye on that might allow the Bears to pull off a stunning upset (or at least make it worth your while to tune in).

Can the Chicago Bears’ offense avoid the 1 thing Bill Belichick will gameplan for?

Belichick is tied with Chicago Bears founder and legendary head coach George Halas for the second-most career victories by a head coach. One way Belichick has racked up all those wins is by making sure his defenses take away the opposing team’s best weapon or the one thing they do best.

The Bears’ offense is abysmal right now so there is not a whole lot to take away. Belichick could choose to game-plan wide receiver Darnell Mooney out of the picture. Mooney has caught 13 passes for 214 yards in his last three games.

The more likely scenario is Belichick will make sure the Patriots’ defense does everything it can to stop the run. The one thing the Bears’ offense has been able to do is run the ball. They currently rank second in the league in rushing.

David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert have formed an effective one-two punch at running back. While the offensive line has struggled mightily in pass protection, they are a wrecking crew when it comes to run-blocking. Quarterback Justin Fields has shown he can be a great runner when flushed out of the pocket.

Expect Bill Belichick to have a lot of eight-man fronts to contain the Chicago Bears’ rushing attack. He will do everything he can to force the Bears to throw the ball and keep Fields from getting out of the pocket.

The offensive line along with Montgomery and Herbert has to be up to the task to stay effective in the game. Also, it appears head coach Matt Eberflus may switch things up and have Herbert as the starting running back.