CHICAGO — On the floor, quarterbacks Caleb Williams and Drake Maye seem fairly totally different. Williams unapologetically wears his feelings on his sleeve for the Chicago Bears and >. In the meantime, a soft-spoken Maye nonetheless has a little bit of a Southern drawl, and his “aw, shucks” demeanor in entrance of a mic belies his depth on the gridiron for the New England Patriots.
The 6-foot-1 Williams is 3 inches shorter than Maye. Williams’ escapability wowed within the pre-draft course of. Maye’s prototypical dimension and traits made him a shiny prospect.
They have been separated by solely two picks within the 2024 NFL Draft, plus there’s a fair smaller hole between their considerably parallel NFL careers, and, as Bears backup signal-caller Tyson Bagent advised Yahoo Sports activities postgame, “they're extra related than not.”
“Similar draft class, top-three picks,” stated Williams’ heart, Garrett Bradbury, who snapped the ball to Maye all final season throughout the Patriots’ run to the Tremendous Bowl, “they usually're younger superstars. They are surely.”
The off-script playmaking of Williams and Maye makes them two of the highest offensive creators within the sport. It was the premier attraction throughout this week’s iteration of Thursday Night time Soccer, a recreation by which Williams’ Bears and Maye’s Patriots at one level mixed for seven scoring drives in an eight-possession span.
The lone exception was a Patriots collection that ended with a Maye interception in the long run zone. On an evening when each he and Williams piled up greater than 300 passing yards whereas stoically navigating an abundance of stress, that turnover was a distinguishing consider Williams outdueling his longtime counterpart in y.
“Nice quarterback. He’s been an awesome quarterback for years,” Williams stated on the podium, when requested about buying and selling blows with Maye. “When that occurs, you need to go on the market, and [be like], ‘Let’s go get one. Let’s put the rating again up. Let’s match that from there.’ I believe we did simply that.”
To successfully seal the sport, although, the Bears wanted insurance coverage, not an equalizer. A fourth-quarter drive that started with Williams zipping an attention-grabbing throw and broad receiver Rome Odunze making a jaw-dropping seize on third-and-9 ended with >, which is tied for the third-longest subject aim in Soldier Discipline historical past.
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Santos’ clutch kick gave the Bears a nine-point benefit with 1:34 to go. New England tacked on three factors afterward however couldn't get better a last-ditch onside kick.
Odunze rebounded from committing offensive move interference within the second quarter on a move he couldn’t haul in that might have resulted in a landing, and Santos bounced again from plunking the fitting upright on a 53-yard try earlier within the fourth that may have additionally put the Bears up two scores.
Overcoming adversity was the secret for a Bears staff that successfully turned the web page after f.
“You discover out what you’re manufactured from,” head coach Ben Johnson stated postgame. “And I do know we received the fitting guys on this locker room, that they’ll deal with something that’s thrown their means. They’ve a number of perception in one another, too. I believe that’s a very massive a part of it — they know that even when issues get a bit bit funky or haywire, that we are able to proper the ship and get it going again the fitting course actual fast.”