Stevenson gives the Patriots a momentary lift with a 48-yard TD reception on final play of 1st half

CHICAGO (AP) — Rhamondre Stevenson and New England were in a bad spot. Then the right call at the right time provided a momentary lift for the Patriots.

Stevenson scored an unlikely touchdown on the final play of the first half Thursday night against the Chicago Bears. Stevenson's fifth career TD reception trimmed New England's deficit to 20-14 at the break, but the Bears held off the Patriots for a 30-24 victory.

“We’ve been working on that play for a long time and came in handy today, executed on that play,” Stevenson said. “So felt good to do that.”

Chicago opened a 13-point lead when it scored on Luther Burden's 24-yard reception with 14 seconds left in the opening half. Kyle Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the New England 34.

Drake Maye then fired an 18-yard pass to A.J. Brown, and the Patriots (4-3) used their second timeout with 3 seconds to go.

On the next play, Stevenson slipped out of the backfield and Maye lobbed the ball over the head of Bears safety Cam Lewis. Stevenson ran away from Lewis and got a downfield block from DeMario Douglas before cutting past Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson on his way to the end zone.

“I feel like it brought us some momentum, but obviously not enough,” Stevenson said. “We didn’t come out with the win.”

Stevenson’s 48-yard reception moved New England's win probability from 10.2% to 24.5%, according to Next Gen Stats. The running back covered a total distance of 68.18 yards on the play, and he had a 4.3% chance of scoring.

“I think we could have rallied to the ball there and gotten him down,” Chicago coach Ben Johnson said.

Stevenson finished with 93 yards on five receptions. But he had just 22 yards on six carries. The Patriots rushed for 70 yards on 17 attempts.

Any momentum that Stevenson generated for New England with his touchdown was erased by Chicago's opening possession of the second half. The Bears (5-2) finished a nine-play, 72-yard drive with Caleb Williams' 12-yard touchdown pass to Colston Loveland.

“We didn’t run the ball well enough,” Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said. "But we moved it however we needed to move it and sometimes you are going to have days like that. I thought we’d be able to run it a little better. We didn’t, but then our best players were putting the ball in good spots most of the time and making good decisions. That’s how it goes, we’d have liked to run the ball a little bit better. But it didn’t happen tonight.”

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