New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye played really well in his team's 30-24 Week 7 loss to the Chicago Bears on Thursday night.

Last year's MVP runner-up completed 24 of 31 pass attempts for 321 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also led the team in rushing with 26 yards and a touchdown.

Maye gave the Patriots a chance to win at Soldier Field. The same cannot be said for the defense and the wide receivers.

The wide receivers, in particular, need to be much more productive for the Patriots if they're going to weather the hurricane of injuries that's hit them through seven games.

Who will step up?

Veteran wideouts Mack Hollins and Romeo Doubs are both on injured reserve and it's not known when exactly they'll return.

Somebody has to step up in Hollins and Doubs' absence. That didn't happen Thursday night. Only 87 of Maye's 321 yards went to wide receivers. The other 234 yards went to running backs and tight ends.

A.J. Brown returned from IR last week against the New York Jets and caught three passes on 10 targets, along with a career-high three drops. He didn't fare much better versus the Bears. Brown hauled in three passes for 48 yards on six targets. One of those catches was a 14-yard reception late in the fourth quarter with the outcome mostly decided.

Brown might not be 100 percent healthy after missing four games due to a high ankle sprain, but if he's good enough to be on the field, he needs to be a reliable target for Maye.

DeMario Douglas caught three passes for 27 yards. He has tallied fewer than 40 receiving yards in five of the team's seven games this season.

Kyle Williams had a breakout game against the Las Vegas Raiders two weeks ago with three catches for 91 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown and a 49-yard reception. He has just three catches for 56 yards on seven targets in the other six games combined. He had zero receptions on only one target against the Bears.

Williams has game-breaking speed and is a legitimate big-play threat. But his inconsistency is frustrating. Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has to scheme up some creative ways to get Williams the ball in open space.

Efton Chism also had a quiet night in Chicago. He tallied one reception for 16 yards on one target. After setting season highs with five catches for 55 yards against the Raiders in Week 5, Chism has only one reception over the last two games.

No immediate concern... yet

There's no reason to panic over the Patriots wide receivers right now.

Brown should get better each week. He's only played about two-and-a-half regular season games in this offense. Douglas has made some good plays this season. He had three touchdowns in the two previous games. Chism made a huge touchdown catch against the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, and he entered Week 7 with the best contested catch rate in the league.

There's enough talent in this position group, even without Hollins and Doubs, for the Patriots offense to rely on these guys in key spots each game.

But they can't all struggle in the manner in which they did Thursday night against the Bears. At least one wide receiver needs to step up each game. It should be Brown, but the others are more than capable of making a few important plays that are ultimately pivotal in the outcome.