The New England Patriots may have pulled off a Sunday afternoon win over the New York Jets, but the focus now shifts to Soldier Field in four days against the Chicago Bears.

A Sunday afternoon game-to-Thursday Night Football turnaround separates some of the league's best teams from the rest of the pack. However, for the Patriots this week, several factors complicate the road game, and some of them linger from their 26-19 win.

The Patriots will look to prove that Sunday's win over the Jets wasn't just a step forward but a sign they can handle what comes with a short week on the road in an evenly matched game.

A.J. Brown's return on Sunday drew a lot of buzz, but let's be honest: there was a good chance he wouldn't be a huge factor against the Jets. Brown and Maye looked great in training camp, but from what we saw in Week 1 against the Seahawks, they still needed to find their chemistry when it came to playing together in a game.

Week 6 proved they may still need time, as Brown went 3-for-10. Still, maybe Brown should've been used as a decoy, or maybe even left out of action until Thursday in Chicago.

The Bears have a good mix of defensive schemes to throw Drake Maye for a loop. However, starting outside cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson have struggled so far this season. Stevenson alone has allowed a 145.8 passer rating and three touchdowns. Brown could very much expose that if he gets enough attention on Thursday night.

The Patriots lost three offensive linemen in Week 6. Ben Brown, Alijah Vera-Tucker, and Morgan Moses all left the game on Sunday with injuries. Now, with them diving deep into their roster and pulling players up off the street as insurance, the big question is whether these backups can keep Drake Maye protected in a short week.

The guards will most likely be Walter Rouse and Mat Pryor next week, and rookie Caleb Lomu will take on Morgan Moses' role at right tackle.

For the most part, this group played well together on Sunday afternoon. But the Bears' defensive front will face another strong test on such a quick turnaround.

What makes the perfect shutdown corner? One attribute is that you sometimes don't hear about him in the game because nobody wants to throw the ball to him. After a few weeks off with a shoulder injury, Christian Gonzalez made an impact on his return to action against the Jets.

Gonzalez completely erased New York's primary boundary threats. Gonzalez covered primary target Garrett Wilson on 49 snaps, allowing only five catches for 26 yards.

The recently made highest-paid corner in the game was the anchor, who kept the Jets' defense out of the end zone and held them to 0-for-3 in the red zone on Sunday. Can he do it again on Thursday night? Based on the evidence so far this season, it's hard to argue he couldn't.

With injuries mounting and his team surviving a few fourth-quarter mishaps, Mike Vrabel has a busy couple of days before the trip to Chicago.

Vrabel knows his team got lucky on a few plays on Sunday; he even said so in his post-game press conference, bluntly calling his squad "lucky to win." Vrabel seems well aware that he has 83 hours and counting to make sure his depleted offensive line is ready to protect Drake Maye on national television.

He'll also have to spot some flaws in his defense. If Geno Smith can throw a 48-yard touchdown bomb to Jets rookie Omar Cooper Jr., imagine what Caleb Williams can do in a big game like the one we'll see on Thursday night.

Drake Maye will still face criticism as his progression continues; it's just how it's going to go for him and any quarterback in the league. However, the team's win today really rested on how well he performed in the thick of it.

It wasn't Mayes' best game on paper, 18 of 32 for 235 yards and three touchdowns. His completion percentage dropped 20% from last week against the Raiders, when he threw four touchdowns.

Still, he was calm in the storm when his team needed him—answering the Jets when they got within four points with a drive that led to a Hunter Henry touchdown pass that separated the Patriots by two scores again. This only adds to the NFL analytical theory that a truly elite quarterback acts as the ultimate "force multiplier" or eraser, capable of masking structural flaws like a poor offensive line, a lack of elite wide receivers, or a bad game from the defense.

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