Many media outlets and fans are calling Sunday’s game against New England a must-win situation for the Bears.

It’s rather early for the essentials.

However, the must-win situation probably came and went for the Bears with the loss to the Commanders. Last week’s defeat only added to the insult.

But yes, it’s an unavoidable situation.

The Bears needed to finish their first nine games 7-2 or 6-3 to have any chance of making the playoffs, given how tough their schedule is from here on out. They can’t do it now. This is the toughest schedule in the NFL in terms of opposing winning percentage (0.548) according to Tankahon.com. Their efforts could therefore be wasted.

Then again, just because the Bears don’t get to 7-2 or 6-3 doesn’t mean the season is over, and it’s always possible they improve enough to knock off one or more of the powerhouses in the NFC North they have. which I will face in the coming weeks. This could happen in Chicago given their better home play.

What really makes this game a must-win situation is that it’s at home, they’ll face the Green Bay Packers next week, and their 10-game losing streak against the Cheeseheads is chasing them. A two-game losing streak can now very easily become a four-game losing streak, if they don’t take care of business this week. A four-game losing streak in the third year of a rebuild is a real problem for everyone on the coaching staff, if not the Bears front office.

A number of people have speculated this week about Matt Eberflus’ professional status.

THREE KEYS TO WIN BEARS OVER PATRIOTS

THE BEARS COULD FACE YANNICK NGAKOUE ON SUNDAY

THE BEARS’ OFFENSIVE TREND INDICATES IT’S TIME TO TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT

THE BEARS RELY ON A GREATLY RENOVATED OFFENSIVE LINE AGAINST THE PATRIOTS

What we can say for sure is that if they lose to this New England Patriots team at home, Eberflus will be looked at most closely by everyone.

It’s the Bears (4-4) and Patriots (2-7) in a noon game at Soldier Field on Sunday, here’s who wins and why.

Bears pass vs. Patriots pass defense

Caleb Williams at home is not the Caleb Williams who showed up on the road the last two games. His home passer rating is 105.1 with a success rate of 67.3%. When he operates freely, as he did against the Rams, Panthers and even in a home game in London against the Jaguars, all receivers are involved and no one leaves the field during plays. New England’s pass defense is shaky, but not the worst. They’re 23rd in passer rating, 22nd in overall pass defense, but they don’t put a lot of pressure on passers. They are 17th in blitz percentage at 24.5% according to Stathead/Pro Football Rererence, but their return is that they rank 28th in putting pressure on QBs with 18.4% pass attempts. When you talk about Yannick Ngakoue as the answer to your cutting edge problems, then you really are in trouble. Edge Bear

Bears Rushing vs. Patriots Run Defense

The Patriots are inviting teams to run on them, as they rank just 26th in stopping the run and have allowed 159 rushing yards per game over their last seven games, and have allowed a whopping 112 yards to ground in each of these seven matches. . When D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson are allowed to start, the Bears offense can click. The only exception was the Washington game, where they ran for 202 yards with Williams’ help and still lost. They can’t give up the run unless they’re hopelessly out of contention because the Patriots are giving up more than 6 yards per carry to the outside on either side of the line of scrimmage. Additionally, losing safety Kyle Dugger to injury is a big blow to the Patriots’ run defense as well as their pass defense. He plays the run like a linebacker. Edge Bear

Bears pass defense vs. Patriots pass defense

Montez Sweat is back for the pass rush, Kyler Gordon is back to defend the slot and wreak havoc. The Bears have a top-three pass defense in passer rating and in overall yards allowed, they are eighth. Drake Maye is a difference maker for the Patriots as they average just 165.6 yards passing without him and 196.7 with him, but his receiving corps is made up of inexperienced or underperforming receivers with the exception of tight end Hunter Henry. Regardless of the Patriots QB, they have gone six of nine games without reaching 149 passing yards. Edge Bear

Bears Run Defense vs. Patriots Rushing

Even with Andrew Billings healthy, the Bears have struggled with consistency in their run defense this year. They found that the tackles for loss and no gain provided by Justin Jones last year were difficult to replace. Getting Sweat and Gordon back helps their run defense immensely, but the key cog has always been Billings and he finished the year. The Patriots aren’t afraid to run and run again, as they have the 12th most carries in the league despite falling behind. Rhamondre Stevenson only averages 3.8 yards but gets tough, and Antonio Gibson is a tough runner but still a threat with 4.3 seconds to go all the way. The biggest threat right now might be Maye at RPO or as a jammer. Peak Patriots

Special teams

Joey Slye is one of those modern kickers with great legs and his 12-of-15 performance for the Patriots this year includes a 63-yard field goal. The weather is changing and he might find it a little more difficult in the future. However, he has an advantage over Cairo Santos. Bryce Baringer has been every bit the equal of Bears punter Tory Taylor this season with 21 punts inside the 20 and a 50.1 yard average. New England’s Marcus Jones is the big return threat with 15.6 yards per punt return which the Bears are missing. Peak Patriots

Training

Even though Matt Eberflus’ teams are weakening on the road, they have built a nine-game winning streak at home and are playing a different style of ball at Soldier Field. No major strategic errors, such as not using timeouts or not keeping tacklers in bounds, occurred at home. They even won the opening match despite having nothing to do to win it. Jerod Mayo was a curious choice for a team trying to get past Bill Belichick. His experience concerns the Belichick diet. They should have moved away from this completely outdated style. No edge

Intangible assets

The field should be a big help, but one almost wonders if it can work the other way too, as their habit of starting so poorly on offense could once again lead to an early deficit and Bears fans may boo their own team better than anyone else, except maybe. Eagles and Jets fans. However, the clear difference in their passing game at home on the road is enough to make it a real advantage for the Bears. Edge Bear

Final score: Bears 27, Patriots 13

If ever a team needed a home game against an NFL punching bag, it’s the Bears right now. It would be easy to see them win just one more game this season after this one, so Bears fans better enjoy it.

Twitter: BearsOnSI