FOXBORO, Mass. — The hometown fans started filing out of Gillette Stadium in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bears put the finishing touches on a dominant 33-14 victory over the New England Patriots.
Bears star linebacker Roquan Smith certainly took notice of a Patriots crowd that was raucous when Bailey Zappe relieved Mac Jones in the second quarter, but by game’s end had grown silent with the Bears rattling off 23 unanswered points.
While Smith could have used the old adage of, “it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop,” to characterize the Patriots fans still in attendance late in the fourth quarter, he went in a different direction and had a very unique way of describing the environment.
“It was pretty sweet just seeing how hushed it was,” Smith said. “For a second, I’m like, ‘Oh, wow.’ After we were making some big plays I’m like, ‘Where are the fans talking?’ I was expecting at least some Bears fans or something. But man, it was like you could hear a rat piss.”
Smith played a big role in the Bears shutting down the Patriots in the second half. The 25-year-old totaled a game-high 12 tackles to go along with recording one of Chicago’s three interceptions, and he believed Chicago was in control throughout despite the Patriots taking their only lead, 14-10, midway through the second quarter.
“Honestly, I felt like we took over pretty much the entire game,” Smith said. “And you think about the plays that they got, they only got the one go-ball and the oh, crap play. A busted play. … Other than that, they really didn’t do too much.”
Smith wasn’t the only member of the Bears reveling in stunning the Patriots and their fans. Old friend N’Keal Harry, who made his debut for Chicago after being traded by the Patriots this summer, enjoyed the quiet atmosphere as the Bears celebrated a road win.
“Their crowd was rocking tonight,” Harry said. “So, it was good to silence them a little bit.”
