The Chicago Bears badly need a victory this week before a demanding NFC North stretch begins. The Bears will be treated Sunday with a visit to Soldier Field from the 2-7 New England Patriots, who are in their own state of disarray and coming off a 20-17 overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron calls presnap penalties a plague to his attack but it's getting rather late in the season to worry about false starts and illegal motion calls.