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 win .

“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 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.

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