The first meeting between the No. 1 overall pick and No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft didn't go as expected, to say the least.
Caleb Williams' Chicago Bears entered Sunday's game against Drake Maye's New England Patriots as heavy favorites but fell flat in a disastrous 19-3 loss. Williams completed just 16 of 30 passes for 120 yards with no touchdowns and was sacked a season-high nine times, while Maye compiled 208 total yards (184 passing, 24 rushing) with a touchdown pass and an interception to help lead the Patriots to victory.
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Beyond the stats, however, our Phil Perry saw one quarterback who exhibited mental toughness and another whose body language matched his poor play. Which led Perry to make a bold statement on Patriots Postgame Live.
"The first takeaway from this game is that the Patriots got the better guy," Perry said, as seen in the video playe above. "Drake Maye showing poise, showing some resiliency, and on Caleb Williams' end, just not enough from a No. 1 overall pick who has some talent with his weapons around him in that offensive huddle.
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"Some really unforced errors on his part," Perry added of Williams. "Holding onto the football helps lead to nine sacks for the New England Patriots, and just some wild spray misses -- completely inexcusable, quite frankly, when it comes to any quarterback at this level; just missing open receivers without anybody really around him."
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Williams has had moments of brilliance this season, including a four-touchdown performance in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and a 304-yard, two-score effort in a victory over the Carolina Panthers. He hasn't thrown a touchdown pass in three straight games, however, and appeared to show his disgust with Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on the sideline Sunday amid his latest rough game.
Maye, on the other hand, showed impressive leadership this past week by addressing the Patriots' offense after being unsatisfied with its performance in practice. So, while Williams might be the more gifted QB with the higher ceiling, Maye appears to have the better temperament early in his NFL career, which could bode well for the Patriots turning things around under the North Carolina product.
Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson also sided with Perry in saying he'd prefer Maye over Williams at this juncture.
"A lot of it is just his overall disposition," Johnson said of Williams on Patriots Postgame Live. "Just the way he handles things, the way he talks about his teammates, the way he addresses the media, his body language on the sideline -- you can get down with that if you're a teammate of Drake Maye.
"You look on the other side, and you see Caleb Williams with kind of a bitter beer face and (being) mopey. It's a totally different vibe."
Maye and Williams both have a long way to go. Sunday's victory was Maye's first as an NFL starter when he played a full game, and he needs to cut back on the turnovers (five interceptions in five starts.) But there's reason for New England fans to feel good about their future franchise quarterback after his first duel with Williams.
