Patriots close first half of Thursday Night Football with Rhamondre Stevenson TD thanks to bizarre misfire by Bears coverage

The Chicago Bears had a pretty good first half on Thursday night until there were three seconds left on the clock.

A last-gasp play by the New England Patriots resulted in a 48-yard receiving touchdown for running back Rhamondre Stevenson, whom the Bears left unchecked out of the backfield. Quarterback Drake Maye quickly found Stevenson, who had a blocker and dozens of yards of open field in front of him. It cut Chicago's lead to 20-14 at the time.

The Bears didn't end up paying for the mistake as they went on to win 30-24.

Even when Stevenson had the ball, the Bears' deep coverage should have been able to bring him down. However, a bad angle by cornerback Jaylon Johnson, a friendly fire collision between defensive backs Dillon Thieneman and Kyler Gordon, and a lack of speed from behind by cornerback Cam Lewis turned a four-on-two disadvantage into a winning play for New England.

This is not stuff you often see from an NFL defense.

The play doesn't get much better when viewed from a dots perspective.

Up to that point, the Bears had reason to feel good, with touchdowns by Luther Burden III and D'Andre Swift, plus a pair of Cairo Santos field goals, giving them a 20-7. Before that fateful play, they had outgained New England 217-179.

Momentum carries you only so far in the NFL, though.