Chicago Bears cornerback Clark Phillips III was punished by the NFL for an illegal helmet tackle of New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye in the Bears Thursday Night Football victory, even though Phillips was not flagged for the hit by officials on the field.
The league cited Phillips for use of the helmet on the second-quarter tackle, according to ESPN‘s Mike Reiss, though officials apparently missed the violation during Chicago’s 30-24 win on Oct. 22.
The play unfolded with 11:33 left in the second quarter, on second-and-goal from the Chicago 7-yard line. Maye scrambled toward the end zone and stretched out, his body parallel to the ground. Phillips lowered his head and struck Maye’s helmet, then grabbed it to halt the quarterback’s momentum.
Officials initially spotted Maye short of the goal line. New England coach Mike Vrabel challenged, and replay overturned the ruling into a 7-yard rushing touchdown that cut the Bears’ lead to 10-7. The Patriots had driven 74 yards on nine plays to reach that point.
Bears’ Clark Phillips III Fined for Drake Maye Hit
The absence of a flag traces back to the quirks of the NFL rulebook. Roughing-the-passer protections for quarterbacks apply only in a traditional passing posture, under Rule 12, Section 2, Article 11. Once Maye became a runner, those protections no longer covered him.
The helmet rules in Article 10 still apply to runners. They bar a defender from lowering his head to make forcible contact, and from using the helmet or facemask against an opponent’s head or neck.
The 2026 schedule lists impermissible helmet use at about $23,882 for a first offense and $47,762 for a second. Phillips’ penalty landed well below the first-offense figure, under the “use of the helmet” category.
The hit “definitely deserved a flag,” Boomer Esiason said before the league announced the fine.
Chicago beat the Patriots 30-24 at Soldier Field to improve to 5-2. Caleb Williams went 22-of-33 for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Maye went 24-of-31 for 321 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, adding 26 rushing yards and the score. New England fell to 4-3.
Phillips III’s Career and Discipline History
Phillips, 24, is a 5-foot-9 cornerback born in Lakewood, California. He starred at La Habra High School, earned 2019 Orange County Register Defensive Player of the Year honors and flipped his commitment from Ohio State to Utah.
At Utah, he started as a true freshman in 2020. In 2022, he won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous All-America honors, finishing his college career with 112 tackles, 30 passes defensed and nine interceptions.
The Atlanta Falcons selected him in the fourth round, 113th overall, of the 2023 NFL Draft. Across three seasons there, Phillips played 28 games with seven starts, 63 tackles and 10 passes defensed, plus an interception and two forced fumbles. His best year came in 2024, when he appeared in 16 games and logged 35 tackles and an interception worth 45 yards. A triceps injury limited him to one game in 2025, and he went on injured reserve Oct. 18 of that year.
On Aug. 30, Atlanta sent Phillips and a 2027 fifth-round pick to Chicago for defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. He signed a one-year deal worth about $2.249 million, with a 2026 cap hit of about $2.149 million.
Phillips has worked as a depth, nickel and special-teams contributor for the Bears, with limited snaps and about one tackle early in the season. His career totals stand at 33 games, seven starts, 64 tackles, one interception, 10 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
The Maye fine is the first on Phillips’ NFL record. He had no prior player-safety fines or suspensions.
NFL Slaps 5-Figure Punishment on Bears DB for Helmet Hit on Drake Maye