BEARS BEAT Take ‘special’ out of special teams
Patriots’ TDs on kickoff return, blocked punt loom large
It wasn’t what Bears punter Pat O’Donnell saw that told him trouble had arrived in the third quarter Sunday against the Patriots. It was what he heard, then felt.
‘‘The double thud,’’ O’Donnell said. The first, of course, was the result of his right foot striking the football. The second was Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower blocking it.
‘‘I was just focused on the ball, trying to get it off,’’ O’Donnell said. ‘‘And I ended up on my back.’’
Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy scooped up Hightower’s block and ran 29 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. It was all part of an awful day for the Bears’ special teams in a 38-31 loss Sunday to the Patriots at Soldier Field.
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky struggled against Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s defense, which attacked him with various looks and pressures. He threw two interceptions and finished with a 69.8 passer rating.
The Bears’ defense struggled for the second consecutive game, particularly up front. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (25-for-36, 277 yards, three touchdowns, one interception, 108.2 passer rating) was sacked only once, and it took a blitz from rookie linebacker Roquan Smith to get it.
But allowing 14 points on special teams is unacceptable. That’s where the Bears lost the game.
‘‘Anytime you give up two special-teams touchdowns, I can’t imagine the numbers are too good in regards to winning that game,’’ coach Matt Nagy said. ‘‘So that hurt us.’’
The Bears’ special-teams woes started when the Patriots’ Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. He sidestepped defensive backs Sherrick McManis and Kevin Toliver, high-fived teammate J.C. Jackson at the Bears’ 10 and walked into the end zone.
It was redemption for Patterson, who had fumbled on a kickoff return when he was tackled by linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski near the Bears’ sideline in the first quarter. The return swung the momentum in the Patriots’ favor after running back Jordan Howard had given the Bears a 17-7 lead with a two-yard touchdown run.
‘‘I just missed the tackle,’’ said Toliver, who had the last shot at Patterson before he raced past kicker Cody Parkey. ‘‘That was it. It’s just something I can’t do.’’
Tight end Ben Braunecker can relate. Hightower ran over him en route to blocking O’Donnell’s punt. Braunecker said his feet got tripped up after the snap.
‘‘We knew, based on the look, that they were going to really rush hard, so our splits were condensed,’’ Braunecker said. ‘‘I went through my normal routine, kicked back twice. And as we saw on the tablet afterward, the guy inside of me was anchoring in, blocking a big [defensive] lineman, and my legs just got taken out from under me. Before I knew it, I was flat on my back.
‘‘I just can’t imagine a worse feeling on the football field, knowing that you’re responsible for something like that. I honestly gave it my best. I don’t know what I could have done to have prevented that.’’
It was a tough look for a young player who has emerged as a staple on the Bears’ special teams. It was the first blocked punt returned for a touchdown against the Bears since the Giants had one Sept. 14, 1987.
‘‘It’s really unacceptable,’’ Braunecker said. ‘‘Frankly, I’m really embarrassed about it.’’
It was that type of day for the Bears. Many aspects of their play on special teams were unacceptable and embarrassing. The Patriots’ Julian Edelman also recovered his own muffed punt at the 4 to avoid disaster late in the first half.
‘‘We need to get on track, man,’’ McManis said. ‘‘We’ve just got to execute our jobs . . . . We’ve got to do that together.’’