The Bears looked headed into halftime with a comfortable cushion on Thursday night, then one long Patriots snap flipped the whole feel of the game.
Chicago had just punched in a third-and-17 red-zone score from Luther Burden III to make it 20-7, and that margin was on the board until New England found a huge answer. Rhamondre Stevenson, who finished Week 7 with six carries for 22 yards and added five catches for a team-high 93 yards and a touchdown in the loss, delivered the biggest play of the first half with a 48-yard receiving score that trimmed the Bears’ lead to 20-14.
That was the play social media immediately zeroed in on. A slowed-down clip circulated showing a Chicago defender, while facing Stevenson, suddenly turning and sprinting in the opposite direction just as the play developed. The reaction online was instant, with fans framing the moment as proof the game was “rigged.”
“I’m no genius, but I’m far from f-king stupid. #24 Clearly & intentionally on national television purposely went the opposite direction.
Right in our f-king face!!!” one post read.
Others piled on with the same line of attack. “It’s because the NFL is just as fake as the WWE. Predetermined winners, scripts,” one person said.
“I love all the retards trying to defend this retard - as a defensive guy, you should also make the guy try to run inside. Terrible fucking IQ from this dude,” a second person added.
“It’s all scripted, bud, the NFL files its taxes as an Entertainment league & not a competitive one like the Olympics. Please do your homework,” a third person wrote.
The defender in question was Malik Muhammad, and the online frenzy kept circling back to his reaction on the play. From there, the betting chatter followed, with fans pointing to the halftime swing and the final score as a moment that may have moved a lot of money.
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Macks path makes the idea feel especially intriguing because this would be a full-circle sort of move after Chicago sent him to the Chargers in March 2022. Nothing official has been reported, but the possibility of a reunion is the kind of deadline wrinkle that can reshape how the Bears are viewed in the weeks ahead. [Read more 🡒]