The Patriots came into their week 8 matchup with the lowly Bears looking to win their fourth straight game. Following a punt by Chicago on the opening possession, with great field position, the Patriots stormed 55 yards in just 5 plays, with Tom Brady connecting with Rob Gronkowski for a 6-yard touchdown, the first of three touchdown receptions on the day for Gronkowski. After a Bears punt, the Patriots took over 7 minutes off the clock in driving to the Bears 5-yard line, but could only settle for a 23-yard Gostkowski field goal, and a 10-0 lead. The Bears fortunes didn't get any better and they punted again on their next drive. The Patriots struck again with a five-and-a-half minute, 76-yard drive culminating with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Wright, pushing the lead to 17-0. On the Bears next drive, McCourty intercepted Jay Cutler at the Bears 22, but the play was nullified by an illegal contact penalty on Brandon Browner. With new life, the Bears marched another 54 yards and Cutler found Matt Forte on a 25-yard touchdown pass, making the score 17-7. Then Patriots took control of the game from there. In a 57-second span, the Patriots scored 3 touchdowns. First, the Patriots marched 80 yards in 10 plays, with Brady throwing a 2-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski. Following a Bears three-and-out, Edelman's 49 yard return plus a 10-yard holding penalty on the Bears' Trevor Scott set the Patriots up at the Bears 9. On the first play, Brady hit LaFell for a 9-yard touchdown. On the first play of the ensuing Chicago possession, Cutler was strip-sacked by rookie defensive end Zach Moore with Rob Ninkovich recovering and returning it 15 yards for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 38-7 lead blowout lead. Revis intercepted Cutler on the last play of the first half, and the Patriots lead stood 38-7. On the first drive of the 2nd half, Brady hit Gronkowski for 46-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. This was Tom Brady's fifth touchdown pass of the day (his third career five touchdown game), and the third for Gronkowski (his second career three touchdown game), extending the lead to a 45-7 massacre. Later in the third quarter, the Bears marched 80 yards with Cutler hitting Martellus Bennett on a 20-yard touchdown pass, with a successful 2 pt. conversion, making the score 45-15. The Patriots countered by marching 71 yards in just under six minutes, extending the lead to 48-15 on a 27-yard Gostkowski field goal. With the game well out of reach, backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo took over for Tom Brady. The Bears would score again when Culter marched the bears 80 yards and hit Alshon Jeffery for a 10-yard touchdown pass, with another successful 2 point conversion, making the score, still insurmountable, 48-23. With a short field after an unsuccessful onside kick attempt, the Patriots moved 21 yards before Gostowski made the score 51-23. The Bears Jimmy Clausen drove them to the Patriots 26, but turned the ball over on downs. Garoppolo took a knee to end the game. The Patriots' 51 points were their largest single-game total of the season. Tom Brady made history in the game. This was his 17th career game with four touchdown and zero interceptions which tied him with Drew Brees for the most all time. In addition, this was his 43rd career game with 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions which placed him second by Peyton Manning. On top of that, he threw for 354 yards. The Patriots totaled 122 yards rushing as well. Gronkowski and LaFell combined for 20 catches for 273 yards and four touchdowns, with both catching every ball thrown to them. Jay Cutler actually played well, completing 20 of 30 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns, but threw an interception and lost a fumble. Matt Forte was fantastic, rushing for 114 yards on just 19 carries with a receiving touchdown. However, the Bears defense couldn't stop New England for anything and it would continue next week when they lost to the Packers 55-14.. How many points were scored in the first half?