NFL Thursday Night Football Preview: Bears vs. Patriots feature two hot teams with exciting young QBs

The 2024 NFL Draft has made history. It was the first time six quarterbacks were among the first 12 picks.

There’s plenty of time to watch the careers of all six quarterbacks unfold and determine their rankings. But entering their third season, two quarterbacks in this class appear to be going their separate ways: Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears and Drake Maye of the New England Patriots (Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders could make this a three-way conversation, but he needs to stay healthy).

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Thursday night, Maye and Williams take the national stage as the Bears and Patriots face off. The teams around these quarterbacks are also pretty good.

The Patriots overcame a slow start to win three straight, a streak that included an impressive win over the Buffalo Bills. Maye’s own struggles to start the season, a slump that dated back to the last playoffs, are also over. Over the last three games, he has 10 passing touchdowns and one interception. Maye came within one vote of being named NFL MVP last season and over the last three games, he has looked like the player who was a star last season.

The Patriots and Bears are both 4-2, but have reached those records in different ways. The Patriots started slow and warmed up. The Bears fired early, scoring 59 points against the Carolina Panthers in Game 1, but in Week 2 the offense struggled and Williams suffered a hamstring injury. The Bears stayed afloat by winning two of three games with Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent at quarterback, although the third game of that stretch was a bad 31-7 loss to the Packers. But Williams returned last week and the Bears led 31-7 against the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth quarter. Chicago let it go and the Falcons got back into the game, but the Bears made a key defensive stop to win 31-23.

With Williams healthy and Maye in great shape, Thursday night should be a fun matchup between two 24-year-old quarterbacks who should be stars for many years to come. Both teams could also be capable of making deep playoff runs this season.

Who needs it most?

Both teams are in similar situations. The Patriots are chasing the Bills in the AFC East and can’t afford to let Buffalo fall behind in the race. The Bears are also off to a good start, but they are looking at the Vikings 5-0 in the NFC North. The difference for the Bears is that their entire division is in the race. Every team is above .500 and capable of winning the NFC North title. For this reason, we will say that the Bears have a little more to play on Thursday night. But the stakes are high for each team, as one will be 5-2 and feeling great about the direction their season is heading.

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Key player: Patriots WR AJ Brown

The Patriots traded a first-round pick for Brown to give them a true No. 1 receiver and transform their offense. That didn’t happen because Brown injured his ankle in Week 1 and went on injured reserve. He came off the IR for Week 6 and was understandably a little rusty, with just three catches for 27 yards. He had three drops. This situation is unusual and seems unlikely to occur again. If the Patriots can get Brown to play at his normal level, it would improve an offense that is already on a hot streak. Brown becoming a factor in the offense is even more important with Romeo Doubs entering injured reserve with a shoulder injury. Two weeks ago, the Bears defense was picked apart by Jordan Love and the Packers, who repeatedly beat the secondary. Brown being able to generate explosive plays could be the difference in what should be a close game.

Betting Market Monitoring, by Ben Fawkes

The Chicago Bears are 3-point home favorites against the suddenly red-hot New England Patriots on Thursday night. Chicago hosted Caleb Williams on Sunday against Atlanta, and the Bears’ offense looked unstoppable for stretches of the game in taking a 31-7 lead, before two late Atlanta scores made the finale closer than it should have been. Drake Maye has turned his season around, but will have his hands full trying to keep up with Chicago’s offense. That total is already up a few points from its first game, but I’m expecting a great game between two potential playoff teams in this one that tops the total by 50.5.

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Check out more of Ben’s work at the Yahoo Sports betting center.

Week 7 kicks off with a fun matchup between the Patriots and Bears, with a juicy total of 50.5. Here are three themes to follow from a fantasy perspective.

1. What does the New England backfield look like? The Patriots used three main backs in the win over the Jets last week, and it was Corey Kiner, unknowingly, who closed out the game. Rhamondre Stevenson is a borderline starter here, and TreVeyon Henderson a bench reserve (at best) for now.

2. Have the Bears unlocked their best pass catchers? Obviously, the return of QB Caleb Williams last week was a huge boost, but it was also refreshing to see Colston Loveland and Luther Burden live up to expectations. Maybe Loveland, Burden and Rome Odunze are finally ready to validate their aggressive ADPs from the summer.

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3. Can AJ Brown get back into shape? Brown’s first game after his ankle injury was an unqualified mess – just 27 yards and a handful of drops. The Patriots want Brown to be their alpha, but Drake Maye has been productive of late spreading the ball.

See more of Scott’s work at Yahoo Sports Fantasy Center.