Brady looking to stay unbeaten vs. Chicago
Tom Brady has five Super Bowl championships, three NFL MVP awards and more victories than any quarterback in a career spanning nearly two decades.
One thing he doesn’t have: a loss to the Bears. Not that he wants one.
Brady looks to remain unbeaten against them when the New England Patriots visit Chicago today. The Patriots are also going for their fourth straight win.
The Bears (0-4) are one of five teams never to beat Brady, along with Atlanta (0-5), Dallas (0-4), Minnesota (0-4) and Tampa Bay (0-4). And he isn’t slowing down at 41 years old.
“I admire his competitiveness and just following his journey and what he’s had to overcome to be able to get where he’s at,” Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky said. “It’s very admirable and doing it this long this well over a long period of time is pretty incredible.”
Brady already had more victories than any quarterback when the Patriots (4-2) beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-40 last week. That made him the first with 200 regular-season wins.
Brady came through, passing for 340 yards and a touchdown while running for another score. He also helped set up Stephen Gostkowski’s 28-yard winning field goal, and the Patriots amassed season highs in points and yards (500).
The Bears (3-2) lost 3128 in overtime at Miami after winning three in a row. Trubisky threw for 316 yards, three TDs and an interception.
“I think he’s done a good job of getting the ball to the players that are open or in space and letting them be playmakers,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said about Trubisky. “He has a lot of them. That’s the quarterback’s job is to deliver the ball to the playmakers and let them go. I think he’s done a good job of that. He’s a tough kid, which I respect.”
Also, star tight end Rob Gronkowski was downgraded to doubtful. He did not travel with the team to Chicago.
BENGALS’ BURFICT FINED $112,000 >> The NFL fined Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict $112,000 for multiple unnecessary roughness penalties in Cincinnati’s loss to Pittsburgh last Sunday.
The third-quarter plays involved Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back James Conner. Burfict has been fined 11 times for more than $315,000 during his sevenyear NFL career and was suspended for four games to begin this season for violating the league’s policy on performance enhances.
Burfict was fined for a helmet hit to Brown; he previously served a three-game suspension for a hit on Brown during the 2016 playoffs. His other fine came for a high hit on Conner. CHARGERS’ GORDON QUESTIONABLE >> Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon has been downgraded to questionable for today’s game against the Tennessee Titans because of a hamstring injury.
Gordon is third in the NFL and leads the AFC with 466 rushing yards. He did not show up on the injury report until the team’s practice in London on Friday, when his participation was limited.
The fourth-year running back has rushed for over 100 yards in two of the past three games.
Austin Ekeler would likely be the starter if Gordon is unable to play. The second-year back is averaging 6.4 yards per carry and has three receiving touchdowns this season. JARRETT CLEARED TO RETURN >> Falcons coach Dan Quinn said defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has been cleared to play after an ankle injury sidelined him for two games. Jarrett will start Monday night when Atlanta hosts the Giants.