A.J. Brown’s return to the Patriots was supposed to calm everything down. Instead, Week 6 lit up a fresh round of questions after a rough showing against the Jets.
Brown had been sidelined since suffering a high ankle sprain in the season opener against the Seahawks, and his activation last week finally put him back in the lineup. The excitement was easy to understand. His connection with Drake Maye had shown up all summer, and with the offense sputtering early in the year, the Patriots clearly needed him back.
But the comeback game didn’t go the way anyone wanted. Brown finished with just 3 catches for 27 yards on 10 targets and tied a career high with 3 drops. He wasn’t happy with it either.
“I just didn’t make the play. I’m not really going backwards because it’s over with now.
I watched the film. I put it to bed, and I’m looking forward.”
That outing set off the usual chatter: Was he back too soon? Was the ankle still bothering him? Those concerns have hung around this week, but Drake Maye isn’t feeding them.
Asked earlier this week about his receiver and whether he had any worry about Brown bouncing back as the No. 1 target this offense needs, Maye didn’t sound concerned at all.
“It’s A.J. Brown.
Last week is what it is. I wish I had some throws back and attempts I targeted his way, and I think it’s part of this league.
You want to make a play so bad, you want to have plays back, and there are plays that I want back every week, and that’s part of it. It’s a short week, so we’ve got to get focused on Chicago.”
That kind of confidence matters, especially with the Patriots carrying plenty of noise already this season. One bad game is not enough to define Brown, and the team seemed to know he needed real snaps before Thursday’s matchup with the Bears. He played 52 offensive snaps against the Jets, a clear sign the Patriots wanted him ready for something bigger.
The hope inside the building is that Week 6 was just a rust game after a month away, not a warning sign. The summer chemistry between Brown and Maye was obvious, and nothing about one shaky return changes what Brown has been throughout his career.
Still, this is the kind of night where he can settle everything. If Brown and Maye find their rhythm against Chicago, the conversation changes fast. If they don’t, the questions about the trade, and about what Brown can be for this offense, only get louder.
The Bears secondary gives them a real chance to answer those questions. Maye can attack downfield, and Brown has always been at his best in those situations. Thursday night offers the cleanest path yet to wipe away the Week 6 mess and move the focus back to football.
In Other News...
Drake Maye Faces His Biggest Test Since Heating Up
Drake Maye has turned a corner for New England at just the right time, and Sundays matchup with Chicago gives the Patriots another chance to see how real that growth is. Over the last stretch, Maye has looked far more comfortable attacking downfield, and that development matters against a Bears defense that has had trouble holding up on deeper throws. On the other side, Caleb Williams has been working through his own learning curve while operating Chicagos offense with a shorter passing profile than the kind that can stress a secondary vertically.
For New England, the test is less about whether Maye can keep making the routine plays and more about whether he can keep forcing defenses out of their comfort zone when the windows get tighter. Chicagos availability on the back end adds another layer to the matchup, and the Patriots will be watching closely to see whether their young quarterback can keep the deep-ball momentum going against a unit that has had to patch together answers in the secondary. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Face A Familiar Problem In A Very Winnable Bears Game
The Patriots head into a winnable matchup with Chicago carrying the same kind of offensive uncertainty that has followed them for stretches this season. New Englands line is again under the microscope, with injury questions surfacing at guard and along the right side, and that only adds pressure in a game where protection, rhythm and staying ahead of the chains could matter as much as anything the passing game does.
Chicago brings its own concerns, but the part of the Bears that most fits the Patriots' defensive attention is the ground game. With one key back unavailable, DAndre Swift figures to be a major part of the plan, and New England will have to be ready for a rushing attack that can control tempo if it gets rolling. For a Patriots team trying to turn a favorable spot into an actual result, the line play on both sides could end up deciding whether this one looks manageable or familiar in all the wrong ways. [Read more 🡒]
Patriots Face A Thursday Night Concern Up Front And In The Secondary
Thursday nights matchup with the Bears is arriving with the Patriots still sorting through some real uncertainty on both sides of the ball. New England has already ruled out Ben Brown, Carlton Davis III, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Channing Canada and Karon Prunty, while a handful of others are still listed as questionable heading into Week 7. Chicago has its own injury issues to manage, so this game comes with more roster suspense than a typical midweek trip to the spotlight.
For the Patriots, the concern starts up front and carries into the back end, where availability could shape how they approach both protection and coverage. Morgan Moses is questionable after leaving the Jets game with a foot injury, adding another layer to an offensive line picture already thinned by Brown and Vera-Tucker being out. Davis, meanwhile, is unavailable again after aggravating the neck issue from Week 4, leaving New England with another notable hole to fill as it tries to keep pace on Thursday night. [Read more 🡒]