Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez was active for Thursday Night Football, Pro Football Talk and Yahoo Sports reported before kickoff. Neither item gave a reason for the wait on his status. Pats Pulpit's recap said New England came in with "personnel questions at multiple positions." It didn't say which positions or which players.
Gonzalez played and finished with four tackles, three of them solo, and no passes defensed or tackles for loss, per the box score. That is in line with his season. He has played in four games this year and has 14 tackles (12 solo, 2 assisted), with no sacks and no forced fumbles. Four games out of seven means he has not been a constant in the lineup.
The Patriots lost to the Bears 30-24 at Soldier Field. The game was close on the stat sheet. New England had 380 yards to Chicago's 405 and averaged 7.6 yards a play to the Bears' 6.1. Quarterback pass numbers were strong on both sides: the Patriots completed 24 of 31 for 310 yards, and Chicago went 22 of 33 for 289. Pats Pulpit's Bernd Buchmasser wrote that New England had its chances but "simply made too many mistakes." The numbers show a few. The Patriots threw an interception, while Chicago had no turnovers. They were penalized 10 times for 71 yards. They converted 2 of 7 third downs and went 0 for 1 on fourth down. Chicago ran 66 plays to New England's 50 and held the ball for 32:24. The Patriots ran only 17 times for 70 yards.
The Bears opened with 10 points in the first quarter and led 20-14 at halftime. The last play was a 58-yard Santos field goal that went through. Behind the Steel Curtain and Bleeding Green Nation had both framed the game as 4-2 against 4-2, and Bleeding Green Nation noted that New England had won six of the last seven meetings and led the all-time series 11-4. That record has not changed this week.
New England is 4-3 and second in the AFC East, with a one-game losing streak. Before Thursday it had beaten the Jets 26-19 and the Raiders 45-17. Chicago is 5-2 and has won two straight, after a 31-7 loss at Green Bay on Oct. 11 and a 31-23 win at Atlanta.
The Patriots have a longer turnaround than most teams and next play at Miami on Sunday, Nov. 1. Whether Gonzalez stays in the lineup will be a story to follow. Chicago goes to Seattle on Monday, Nov. 2.
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