A.J. Brown was back in the lineup for the New England Patriots in Week 6, and even though the team could have played it safe and kept him out a little longer, they chose to put him on the field against the New York Jets. It was a gamble, but it paid off in a divisional win and gave Brown a chance to get his legs under him after missing a little more than a month.
That timing matters now, because the Patriots do not get much breathing room before heading to Chicago for a Thursday Night Football matchup with the Bears. Brown’s return may have looked a little uneven at times, but it also served a purpose: he got a game’s worth of reps before a quick turnaround.
Brown drew a game-high 10 targets against the Jets, but finished with just three catches for 27 yards. He was dealing with double teams and still looked a step behind, though the expectation is that he and Drake Maye will only get sharper from here.
Chicago presents a different kind of test. The Bears’ defense has been better than people expected, but the back end remains a concern. Jaylon Johnson has struggled in coverage, Tyrique Stevenson is injured and has had his own issues, and rookie Malik Muhammad could have a hard time staying with a receiver like Brown.
There’s also a bigger picture here for New England. Brown’s absence early in the year forced Josh McDaniels and Maye to spread the ball around, and the Patriots’ passing game has responded over the last three weeks.
Sunday was proof of that. Even with their top wideout held to 27 yards, the Patriots still scored 26 points, a sign that the offense has found ways to function without leaning on one player every snap.
Maye completed passes to seven different players in the win over the Jets, and three of them had at least 40 receiving yards. Three players also finished with at least three catches, with DeMario Douglas pacing the group with seven receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown.
Brown’s outing against the Jets might end up looking like the low point of his stretch back into form. Even so, it’s fair to expect more against Chicago. Once the rust is gone, a game like Thursday night could be the kind where 10 targets turn into 10 catches and 100-plus receiving yards.
In Other News...
Patriots Suddenly Need DeMario Douglas Even More After Week 6
The Patriots left Week 6 with a win over the Jets and a 4-2 record, but the bigger takeaway for their offense was how quickly the depth chart started to thin around them. New England took hits along the offensive line and also lost a receiver to injury, a combination that can force an offense to simplify fast and lean harder on the players who can still create separation and keep the chains moving.
DeMario Douglas was already giving them exactly that against New York, pacing the team with seven catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. With the Patriots suddenly needing more from the passing game and less certainty about who will be available around him, Douglass workload now looks less like a useful bonus and more like a necessity. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Rookie Suddenly Has A Veteran Starter Under Real Pressure
The Patriots have spent much of the first six games of 2026 piecing together their offensive line, and the injuries have touched nearly every part of the group. Mike Onwenu, Ben Brown, Morgan Moses and Alijah Vera-Tucker have all been hit at different points, forcing New England to shuffle bodies and rely on depth earlier than expected. In the middle of all that turnover, rookie Caleb Lomu has become one of the brighter developments, handling work at right tackle with a level of composure that has stood out.
Lomus emergence matters because it changes the picture around Moses spot even before the veteran is fully back in the mix. For a rookie with limited experience at the position, he has looked capable enough to keep the Patriots from treating the right tackle job as settled. If Moses is not ready soon, the Patriots may have a tougher decision on their hands than they expected when camp opened. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Vrabel Didn't Let Patriots Fans Ignore What That Win Exposed
The Patriots got the result they needed against the Jets in Week 6, but Mike Vrabel wasnt interested in letting anyone mistake the win for a clean performance. New England left the game with a victory, yet the coach pointed to the kinds of self-inflicted issues that tend to linger if they are not addressed, and the roster is already dealing with more than enough uncertainty elsewhere.
Romeo Doubs being placed on injured reserve adds another layer of pressure as the Patriots turn quickly to the Bears, who arrive off a recent win. For a team trying to steady itself, the challenge is not just keeping pace in the standings but cleaning up the mistakes that made Sunday far more complicated than it needed to be. [Read more 🡒]