Patriots vs. Bears Fantasy Football Worksheet, Week 7

The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Patriots vs. Bears Week 7 matchup on Thursday Night Football.

Find a breakdown of every Week 7 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.

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Patriots vs. Bears Fantasy Quarterback Preview

Drake Maye

Maye stayed hot for gamers on Sunday.

Finishing as the QB3 (23.8 points), Maye has posted three straight weeks as a top-three scorer, with 20-plus fantasy points in each.

Maye threw 3 more touchdowns, bringing his total to 10 over the past three games.

He also added 24 rushing yards, his third straight game with at least 20 yards on the ground.

The Patriots did come out of Sunday banged up on offense.

Romeo Doubs was placed on IR with a shoulder injury.

The offensive line suffered more injuries, with Morgan Moses (ankle), Alijah Vera-Tucker (hamstring), and Ben Brown (knee) all leaving early on Sunday.

Maye faced pressure on 47.1% of his dropbacks in the second half on Sunday, his highest halftime-onward rate this season.

After stepping in at left tackle in Week 5, Caleb Lomu played 59 snaps at right tackle on Sunday.

He did not allow a pressure.

Lomu has now played 81 pass-blocking snaps and has only allowed 3 pressures.

After Vera-Tucker left the game, Matt Pryor moved to right guard, while Brown moved to left guard.

Then, after Brown was injured, Walter Rouse stepped in.

Mike Onwenu and Greg Van Roten are already on IR, so New England could be short-handed up front on a short week.

Maye has been a passer who has excelled when kept clean this season.

Without pressure, Maye has completed 73.3% of his passes for 9.0 yards per pass attempt with a 6.9% touchdown rate.

When pressured, Maye has completed 47.8% of his passes for 6.3 Y/A with a 4.5% touchdown rate.

The Bears are aggressive defensively, blitzing 38.1% of the time (7th) and generating pressure at a 39.5% rate (6th).

Even without Montez Sweat last week, Chicago generated pressure at a 46.2% rate against Atlanta (2nd) while blitzing 48.7% of the time (2nd).

Maye has been pressured on 47.6% of blitzes faced, 26th in the league.

One way the Patriots can calibrate up front after losing Doubs is to lean further into heavy personnel.

They pass out of 12 personnel 19.5% of the time (15th) as is.

They also played a season-high 19.1% of their snaps on Sunday with 13 personnel.

Heavy personnel has given Chicago issues defensively.

They have allowed a league-high 78% completion rate (32 of 41) and a league-high 13.9 yards per pass attempt with multiple tight ends on the field this season.

The banged-up line and the loss of another receiver add potential volatility, but Maye is a high-upside QB1.

If this offensive line holds up, there is a ton of shootout appeal here.

The Bears rank 30th in passing points allowed per attempt (0.56) and 31st in yards per attempt allowed (8.4).

They are 22nd in rushing points allowed to quarterbacks (3.2 per game).

The Bears have allowed QB1 scoring weeks to Bryce Young (31.4 points), Jordan Love (25.3 points), and Michael Penix (23.1 points).

In the two full games that Caleb Williams has played outside the rain game versus Minnesota, they have made opponents chase the scoreboard.

Caleb Williams

Returning to the lineup for the first time since Week 2, Williams ended the week as the QB12 (16.5 points).

He was sharp, completing a career-high 83.3% (30 of 36) of passes for 305 yards (8.5 Y/A) with a touchdown.

The Bears just did their thing on the ground again, rushing in three scores.

Williams did operate near the line of scrimmage at a higher rate than we have seen.

He averaged a league-low 2.9 air yards per pass attempt on Sunday, the second-lowest rate of his career.

Chicago threw screens at a 22.2% rate, the highest rate Williams has had under Ben Johnson.

That led to 194 yards after the catch, tied for Williams' second-most in a game.

Williams only threw 15.6% of his passes 10 or more yards downfield, the second-lowest rate of his career.

On those plays, Williams was 5 for 5 for 100 yards and a touchdown, so he wasn't all dink-and-dunk.

We saw Baltimore attack Atlanta the week before last with a quick passing game, so that could have been by design based on the opponent.

Williams still played his game despite the high rate of shorter passes.

Only 31.7% of his passes were within 2.5 seconds of the snap (25th last week), and 31.7% of his dropbacks were outside of the pocket (7th-lowest).

Williams is also an upside QB1 option in a game with plenty of shootout potential.

The Patriots will test this passing game.

New England is 12th in passing points allowed (12.4 per game).

They have allowed a 66.2% completion rate (25th), and they will allow some chunk gains.

New England has allowed over 8.0 yards per pass attempt to Drew Lock (8.5), Kirk Cousins (8.7), and Geno Smith (8.4).

But they have been more “bend but don't break,” allowing a 3.7% touchdown rate (12th).

Trevor Lawrence is the only passer to throw multiple touchdowns against them in a game this season, which includes facing Josh Allen and Cousins.

Patriots vs. Bears Fantasy Running Back Preview

D'Andre Swift

Swift got 70 total yards on 20 touches Sunday and scored twice.

He largely dominated the backfield while the game was neutral.

Swift played 77.5% of snaps, with 16 of 21 backfield touches in the first half.

He had 18 of 25 backfield touches heading into the fourth quarter.

Roschon Johnson had 15 touches for 85 yards and a touchdown on Sunday.

He played 9 snaps in the first half, getting 5 touches for 36 yards.

Johnson played 61% of the snaps, with 10 touches for 49 yards and a second-half score.

With the game on a short week, we'll assume Kyle Monangai will miss another week to rest his toe injury.

That will give Swift RB1 appeal again while Johnson is a touchdown-dependent RB3/FLEX.

The Patriots have been worse against the run than the pass this season.

They allow 4.1 YPC to running backs (18th), a first down or touchdown on 23.5% of those runs (21st), and a run of 10+ yards on 10.1% (21st).

They are also 17th in receiving points allowed to backs (8.4 per game).

Patriots RBs

This backfield became more interesting last week.

We started last week expecting TreVeyon Henderson to miss time with an ankle injury.

Henderson played on Sunday, handling 8 touches for 40 yards.

But he also fumbled in the third quarter and never touched the ball again.

That would normally have signaled for Rhamondre Stevenson to get more work, but Corey Kiner closed out the game, rushing 11 times for 57 yards, including 9 runs for 44 yards in the fourth quarter.

Kiner rushed 6 times for 52 yards in Week 5, so he is picking up steam as he works his way into this backfield.

The Patriots have run the ball on 81.3% of Kiner's snaps this season, but Mike Vrabel suggested Kiner earned his touches on Sunday.

If Kiner works his way into making this a three-headed backfield, things get messier for a group already limited in ceiling output when Stevenson and Henderson split things themselves.

Stevenson had 14 touches for 36 yards on Sunday,

He still has a lock on passing-down snaps (15 routes and 11 snaps in pass protection) and remains the best bet for goal-line work, but we also saw how low his floor is last week with another rusher involved to potentially pilfer attempts.

If you are chasing a back here, Stevenson is still the preferred swing, but he is an RB3/FLEX.

Henderson remains an all-or-nothing swing.

Kiner would only be a speculative add, who right now is more of a potential thorn for everyone here, but not having a clean path to receptions and fragile usage outside of closing out the past two games.

The Bears do offer matchup appeal.

Chicago allows 4.4 YPC (26th) with an 11.3% explosive run rate (27th) allowed to backs.

Patriots vs. Bears Fantasy Wide Receiver Preview

A.J. Brown

Brown was active on Sunday for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in the season opener.

He showed plenty of rust, catching 3 passes for 27 yards.

He dropped 2 passes and fumbled (not lost), with a few could-have-been grabs not credited as drops.

There was a world where he had 2 touchdowns on Sunday.

He also missed the onside kick at the end of the game, but New England recovered the loose ball.

Sunday's output was hardly flattering, but Brown had no restrictions and high-end usage.

Brown ran a route on 97.1% of dropbacks, with 10 targets (33.3%) and 37.4% of air yards.

Brown was the WR15 in expected points in Week 6, but was second-to-last in points scored below expectations this past week.

Brown should command another high target share with Romeo Doubs sidelined.

He is the Patriots receiver we can expect to play nearly every down in a game that can turn into a high-scoring affair.

Paired with a good matchup on top of things, Brown is an upside WR1/WR2.

The Bears allow 9.7 yards per target to opposing WR1 options (22nd) and a league-high 11.8 yards per target to outside receivers, where Brown has played 89% of his snaps so far.

Luther Burden

Burden caught all 8 of his targets on Sunday for 95 yards.

Six weeks in, Burden leads the Bears in targets (22.1%) and has been targeted on a team-high 26.2% of his routes.

That latter metric matters because Burden ran a route on a season-low 43.9% of dropbacks on Sunday.

His previous low was 69.4% in Week 4.

Chicago did play a season-high rate of snaps in 13 personnel (17.5%) and a 40% rate in 12 personnel (2nd-highest this season), but nothing afterward explained Burden's sharp decline in route participation.

That could be happenstance, since it is an outlier heading into a short week, but it's worth keeping tabs on.

There still exists a world where this Chicago passing tree is more diluted than we expected coming into the season.

That said, Burden has been the best bet for consistent target opportunities, which keeps him in the upside WR3 conversation.

Burden also gets into the slot for 51% of his snaps, which can free him up from having to see as much of Christian Gonzalez as Rome Odunze will.

Targets who move around have been most successful against New England, with good outings allowed to Jakobi Meyers (7-64-1), Khalil Shakir (7-82-0), and Omar Cooper (6-103-1).

Rome Odunze

Odunze caught 3 of 4 targets for 39 yards on Sunday.

He lost a big gain to a penalty, but his usage last week was more in line with where we left a year ago, when he was often the third or fourth target each week.

Odunze did work as the lead wideout on a per-snap basis, however.

He ran a route on 97.6% of the dropbacks.

Odunze only has one week as a top-40 receiver.

The overall game environment keeps Odunze alive as a touchdown-dependent WR4/FLEX, but it won't get easier for him here.

Playing 81% of his snaps out wide, Odunze is set to see Christian Gonzalez most of the Chicago pass-catchers.

Gonzalez returned to the lineup last week as New England held Garrett Wilson to 44 yards.

Gonzalez has been excellent again to open 2026, allowing a 47.6% completion rate in coverage (10 of 21).

Odunze has been targeted on 14.8% of his routes with 1.04 yards per route against man coverage.

Kalif Raymond

Raymond caught 2 passes for 18 yards on Sunday.

After a hot start to the season, Raymond has totaled 7 catches for 30 yards over the past three weeks.

Raymond is best used as a single-game DFS piece.

He has run a route on 44.6%, 59.6%, and 61% of dropbacks over that span, as the Bears have had their two lowest rates on 11 personnel in a game this season.

DeMario Douglas

Douglas caught 7 of 8 targets for 86 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, his second straight game in the end zone (3 total).

Douglas was second on the team in route rate (72.7%) with Doubs off the field on Sunday, and he leads the team in target share on 28.6% of his routes (2.31 yards per route) when Doubs is sidelined.

With Doubs sidelined, Douglas can be used as a WR4/FLEX.

The Bears are playing man coverage 31.2% of the time, second in the league.

Douglas has been targeted on 31.4% of his routes against man coverage, compared with 17.9% against zone.

Douglas has a lower floor without a touchdown, but he leads the team with 6 end-zone targets.

Patriots WRs

With the Patriots playing more heavy sets due to the state of the offensive line, the ancillary wideouts were limited.

Kyle Williams was the third receiver after Doubs left on Sunday, running 21 routes (60%) and catching 1 pass for 12 yards.

Efton Chism ran 10 routes (28.6%) and did not catch a pass (1 target).

These guys are only options for single-game DFS darts.

If the Patriots play more 11 personnel, Chism has been targeted on 58.3% of his routes (7 targets on 12 routes) against man coverage in a small sample.

Patriots vs. Bears Fantasy Tight End Preview

Colston Loveland

Loveland had his best game of the season on Sunday, securing 6 of 7 targets for 65 yards and his first touchdown of the season.

He should have had a second touchdown, but he and Caleb Williams did not execute a play into the flat.

Williams was late to throw, and Loveland never settled his route, running into the front pylon.

The ball ended up behind him and late.

After seeing 21.2% of targets, Loveland has at least a 20% target share in two of his past three games.

He ran a route on 80.5% of the dropbacks, his highest since Week 1.

He is TE12 in fantasy points over the past four weeks.

Williams has thrown 5 end-zone passes on a small sample this year, but 3 of them have gone to Loveland.

A back-end TE1 isn't what gamers drafted, but that's where we are handling him as we find our footing with what this offense will be consistently under Williams.

Remember, in the first two games Loveland played with Williams, he was targeted on only 4.9% and 10.3% of his routes.

The Patriots have given up little production to tight ends to open the season, ranking sixth in points allowed per target (1.49), 17th in yards per target (6.8), and sixth in touchdown rate (2.4%).

Hunter Henry

Henry grabbed 4 of 5 targets for 48 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, his second touchdown in as many games.

Henry chipped in as a pass protector 4 more times but still saw a slight bump in route rate (71.4%), well ahead of Eli Raridon (31.4%), who caught 1 for 11 yards.

Henry is a touchdown-dependent TE2, but if you are chasing a score, this is a good game environment for it.

The Bears rank fourth in receptions allowed to tight ends (4.0 per game), but they allowed 2 touchdowns to Kyle Pitts on Sunday.

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