New England Patriots at Chicago Bears, Week 7 ‘TNF’ live chat

Week 7 of NFL action gets underway this evening with a great interconference matchup between a pair of 4-2 teams in the New England Patriots and Chicago Bears. After a slow start to the season, the Patriots have played much-improved football since their Week 4 road win against the Buffalo Bills. Meanwhile, the Bears have picked up where they left off before quarterback Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury.

Rumblers know the drill by now: Cheer for the team going against New England. (we’ll discuss the Week 15 situation vs. Kansas City Chiefs that could put that theory to a test, but another time). As I like to say, a Patriots loss, is a Bills win. The fact is that Buffalo needs New England to pick up some additional losses if they hope to keep a bit of a buffer while in first place.

If the Patriots win, they’d be just a half game behind the Bills in the AFC East, and already with a tie-breaking victory over them this season. Buffalo will also see the Bears last this season, but NFC teams carry far less weight for AFC teams racing into position for a playoff run.

This should be a pretty darn good game for Thursday Night Football, with plenty at stake for both teams. Will the Bears win this one in primetime for Mike Ditka, who passed away on October 9? You’ll have to bear down and find out!

With that, here’s your open thread for Week 7 of Thursday Night Football. As always, be kind to one another — and in all things… Go Bills!