The final score wasn't the only surprise the New England Patriots delivered Sunday at Soldier Field.
Veteran wide receiver Kendrick Bourne didn't play a single snap in the Patriots' 19-3 win over the Chicago Bears despite being active and having no injury designation.
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Bourne caught a season-high four passes for 41 yards last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans and had played 78 percent of New England's offensive snaps over the past two weeks. So, why was the eight-year veteran effectively benched Sunday in Chicago?
According to the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan, Bourne was informed Saturday he "may not play" Sunday as the team "prioritizes playing time for young players." It appears head coach Jerod Mayo did just that, as second-year wide receivers DeMario Douglas (four catches for 50 yards) and Kayshon Boutte (four catches for 47 yards) led the Patriots in receiving on Sunday while rookie Ja'Lynn Polk caught Drake Maye's lone touchdown pass.
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When asked about Bourne's no-show after the game, Mayo confirmed it was a conscious decision to limit Bourne's playing time but declined to elaborate on the reason.
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"There was a lot that went into that," Mayo told reporters. "Any time you put the active roster together ... we thought that was the best thing to do for us to give us the best chance to win. All those guys bring a certain skill set to the game; we just didn't know who was gonna play more. And it just played out that way."
Mayo added that if Bourne was upset about his benching, he didn't show it after the Patriots' win.
"Even though Bourne didn't play today, he was the first one smiling when I walked in the locker room," Mayo said. "I've always appreciated that, just his energy and excitement. Same thing with K.J. (Osborn) and the rest of those guys. Even when they're inactive, just the excitement for their teammates.
"We talk about abundance versus scarcity and having that mindset of abundance where we can all eat versus scarcity, if you have that scarcity mindset, you don't want your teammate to do well because there's only a certain amount of the pie. What I will say is, the mindset of this team is that when you go out there, there's enough plays to be made for all of us. We just have to go out and execute."
That's a nice sentiment from Mayo, but unless there's more going on behind the scenes, Osborn getting reps over Bourne is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Osborn had caught just 41.2 percent of his targets entering Sunday (seven catches on 17 targets for 57 yards on the season) and caused a stir prior to the NFL trade deadline by suggesting he wanted out of New England. Bourne, meanwhile, has eight catches for 70 yards through five games (51.7 percent catch rate) and is known for bringing energy and positivity to the Patriots' wide receiver room.
Mayo and the Patriots deserve credit for a hard-fought win in Chicago, but the issues in their wide receiver room don't appear to be going away any time soon.
