The New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears are looking for their fifth win of the season. In the midst of the game, a Bears player may have made an illegal play while trying to stop the Patriots quarterback, Drake Maye.
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“HELMET TO HELMET. FACEMASK. CAN’T EVEN SEE. DOESN’T MATTER. DRAKE MAYE TD,” an X account, Pats Buzz, wrote.
The Patriots were shut down to 10-0 before the team went on for 74 yards in nine plays, with Drake Maye running it from the seven-yard line on a 2nd-and-goal attempt in the second quarter with 11:33 left. During Maye’s scramble, the Bears’ No. 20, Clark Phillips III, hit May straight to the helmet.
While it was a helmet-to-helmet contact at first, Phillips was later seen grabbing Maye’s helmet in order to prevent him from going any further. The officials initially ruled Maye down inside the one-yard line, but the Patriots’ head coach, Mike Vrabel, challenged the decision.
In the replay, Maye had stretched himself to the end zone with his body parallel to the ground. Vrabel’s challenge turned out to be successful, as the decision was then overturned and ruled a touchdown for Maye, making the score 10-7.
According to the NFL, under the “Fines & Appeals” section of the NFL Operations page, the fine for impermissible use of the helmet and launching is $23,882 for a first offense and $47,762 for a second offense.
Moreover, under Rule 12, Section 2, Article 10, if a player “lowers his head and makes forcible contact with his helmet against an opponent; or uses any part of his helmet or facemask to butt or make forcible contact to an opponent’s head or neck,” it accounts for a penalty of loss of 15 yards, or an automatic first down if the foul is by the defense.
As for Maye, this isn’t the first time he has suffered a helmet-to-helmet collision; he suffered two during his rookie season in 2024. One came in a 25-22 win over the New York Jets in October, when linebacker Jamien Sherwood hit Maye’s helmet on a play, and Maye exited the game.
Maye suffered yet another concussion due to another helmet-to-helmet collision in late December from defensive back Cam Hart in a disastrous 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The decision will be made after the game, as the game continues with the Bears leading 27-21 in the third quarter. Maye, on the other hand, completed 18 of 22 passes for 253 passing yards, including two passing touchdowns and an interception, while being sacked once so far. He has also recorded a rushing touchdown in the game.
Maye totaled 13 touchdowns so far with a completion percentage of 63.9 during the previous six games of the season.