It's hard to find a darker time for the Chicago Bears in recent memory than that three-week period of the 2024 season that started with the infamous Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders and ended with a humiliating 19-3 loss to the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. The Bears went from 4-2 with back-to-back big games for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to 4-5 and the beginning of the end of the Matt Eberflus era.

Williams has since avenged himself against the Commanders, leading a game-winning drive to seal a breakthrough win in Week 6 last year. Now he has another opportunity ahead of him in Week 7. The 4-2 Patriots are coming to Soldier Field on Thursday Night Football for the first time since 2024, and they'll be looking for their fourth straight win on the season.

The 2024 quarterback draft class controversy continues into 2026

The 2024 NFL draft made history when six quarterbacks were selected in the first round, tied with the 1983 class for the most first-round quarterbacks in NFL history, including three with the first three picks. Naturally, debate about which quarterback emerges as the best of the class soon emerged and still continues to this day.

Jayden Daniels was deemed the best of the bunch after winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, but he has since regressed heavily and has been plagued by injuries. Drake Maye fell just short of winning the MVP award last year, vaulting him to the top of the 2024 class in the eyes of the media, but a historically bad playoff run and a rough start to the 2026 season have marred his reputation.

All the while, Caleb Williams was looked at as another big miss for the Bears. His rookie season was a disaster and led to the Bears firing head coach Matt Eberflus the day after Thanksgiving. He took a huge leap forward in 2025, but accuracy problems combined with the meteoric rise of Maye pulled Williams down the rankings.

However, it all seems to finally be coming together for Williams. As aforementioned, Daniels and Maye have both cooled off considerably since they were prematurely crowned as the best of their class. Williams, on the other hand, is surging ahead. He's been on fire in all three of his starts this year and even set an NFL record against the Atlanta Falcons, proving that he is a surgeon in the pocket.

Bears vs Patriots in Week 7 will be 'must-see TV'

Both of these teams and quarterbacks have changed greatly since they last met. Each team has a new head coach, and both Williams and Maye have playoff wins to their names now. Don't expect to see a repeat of that ugly 2024 contest in which Maye only threw for 184 yards while Williams was sacked nine times. This one should be a high-scoring, high-octane affair between two of the best offenses in the league.

As for Williams, he's primed and ready for another revenge game. His hamstring injury didn't slow him down at all in the Bears' bounce back win over the Falcons, and fans should expect to see another statement performance in Week 7, even on a short week.

Getting the win comes first and foremost, but if Williams can deliver a win and also post a better box score than Maye, there should no longer be any debate about whether the Bears drafted the right quarterback or not. The Bears will know for sure that they got their guy, and Williams can rest easy knowing that he did indeed deserve his first-overall draft selection.