Bears prepare to welcome Patriots to Soldier Field

After an up-and-down start to the season, the New England Patriots are starting to find their groove.

After an up-and-down start to the season, the New England Patriots are starting to find their groove.

That could be bad news for the Chicago Bears as they prepare to welcome the Patriots to Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon.

New England (4-2) will go for its fourth win in a row with a high-powered offence that has scored 38, 38 and 43 points in its past three contests. The Patriots have vaulted into a tie with the Miami Dolphins atop the AFC East.

Meanwhile, Chicago (3-2) will try to bounce back from a late collapse against the Dolphins on the road. The Bears are 2-0 at home this season and have a chance to match their home victory total (three) from all of 2017.

Bears coach Matt Nagy said he expected his group to respond well this week.

"This is not a 'Debbie Downer' organization," Nagy told reporters after his team returned to its practice facility to prepare for the Patriots. "We're a winning team. We lost that game. Life goes on. How are we going to get better?"

It will not be easy against future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, who has dominated the Bears throughout in his career. In four games against Chicago, he has thrown for 1,318 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 109.4.

Brady is joined on offence by rookie running back Sony Michel, who has four touchdowns in his past three games. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has scored in consecutive games against the Bears, but he was downgraded from questionable to doubtful on Saturday due to back and ankle injuries.

Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky will return home for the first time since throwing six touchdown passes against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a record-setting performance. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns and four interceptions on the season.

Chicago has averaged 366.2 yards on offence, compared with 381.2 for New England. On defence, the Bears have allowed 343.8 yards a game, and the Patriots have allowed 379.3 yards a game.

The top defensive player for either side figures to be Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack, who has been electric since arriving from the Oakland Raiders just before the start of the season. In five games, he has 5.0 sacks, four forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception return for a touchdown. But he could be hampered this week because of an ankle injury that he sustained against the Dolphins.

Mack is officially questionable, as is wideout Allen Robinson.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick paid Mack plenty of compliments but is not about to compare Mack with another elite pass rusher, Lawrence Taylor, whom he coached in New York.

"Wait a minute, we're talking about Lawrence Taylor now," Belichick told reporters when asked about the two. "I'm not putting anybody in Lawrence Taylor's class. Put everybody down below that. With a lot of respect to a lot of good players, we're talking about Lawrence Taylor."

Before being downgraded to doubtful, Gronkowski reportedly did not make the trip to Chicago. Questionable for the Patriots are wideouts Julian Edelman (heel) and Josh Gordon (hamstring) along with Michel (knee). The latter two played last week despite the same designations.