The Patriots’ defense had spent most of this season propping the team up. On Thursday night, though, the same old issue came roaring back in a loss to the Bears: missed tackles, and plenty of them.
What looked like it might be another night where the defense could cover for an offense dealing with injuries turned into a game that exposed one of New England’s most stubborn problems. Next Gen Stats had the Patriots at 10 missed tackles by halftime, already above their previous season high of 8 from last week. By the end of the night, that number had climbed to 16, a new season-worst in a game that was there to be won.
Drake Maye mostly did his part, turning in a pretty clean performance aside from a frustrating interception. That meant the defense only needed to hold up its end, and it didn’t. Mike Vrabel was plainly irritated afterward, and tackling is going to be a major focus during the mini bye before the Patriots meet the Dolphins in Week 8.
Vrabel made his feelings known right away after the game, and he pointed directly at the breakdown that hurt his team most.
Mike Vrabel rips his defense after a tough loss:
"The tackling wasn't good enough. Not against this team...We need to turn the ball over and we need to tackle better, those are fundamental skills."
- @CLNSMedia pic.twitter.com/TFpkuI6Csn
- Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) October 23, 2026
The message is clear enough: the Patriots can’t keep surviving with one side of the ball doing the heavy lifting. That hasn’t worked reliably, and Thursday was another reminder of why.
What makes the performance sting even more is who was involved. This is a defense with experienced players, including veterans who were around last year when missed tackles were already an issue. Those kinds of mistakes shouldn’t be happening at this level, especially not in a game that stayed within reach.
Now the Patriots have a stretch of winnable games ahead, and the next week and a half has to be about cleaning this up. Missed tackles can’t keep deciding games, particularly when the opportunity to win is right there.
In Other News...
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Jaylon Johnson Just Gave Bears Fans A Brutal Debate Again
A late sequence on Thursday Night Football has put Jaylon Johnson back at the center of an uncomfortable conversation in Chicago. On the final snap of the first half, Rhamondre Stevenson slipped into space on a screen pass and finished the play in the end zone, with Bears defenders unable to bring him down and the breakdown drawing fresh scrutiny on a player who has long been viewed as a cornerstone of the secondary.
Johnsons production this season has been modest by his own standards, with 19 total tackles and one tackle for loss in seven games, and the moment only adds more fuel to the debate around his place in the Bears future. He is under a four-year, $76 million contract, so every missed tackle and every public critique lands with a little more weight now, especially with questions swirling about how Chicago will evaluate his role and any future contract talks. [Read more 🡒]