CHICAGO — Patriots rookie wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk was held to one catch in his return to a prominent role on offense, but it was a meaningful one.

Polk caught the Patriots’ only touchdown in Sunday’s 19-3 win over the Bears. The 2024 second-round pick has struggled this season through drops and a Week 7 concussion. After seeing just nine snaps in last week’s loss, Polk was on the field for 26 plays Sunday.

“It was great. With young players, you never know where that inflection point is going to come,” head coach Jerod Mayo said.” You never know when that switch is going to flip. Hopefully, this is the start of him being a very good receiver in this league. We never doubted him in the locker room, and I think that’s important. There’s been a lot of outside noise, and he’s had to deal with the outside noise, but when it’s all said and done, if you go out and do it on the field, there’s not much people can say.”

Polk said the touchdown came from film study. The 2-yard completion was a play-action pass. Polk initially engaged as a blocking, causing cornerback Tyrique Stevenson to bite on the run. Polk then leaked out into the flat to haul in quarterback Drake Maye’s target for the score.

“That was pretty cool. First-round pick, a second-round pick, and I think JP is finding it,” Maye said. “I think there’s sometimes where I think I may have had him some other times in the game. I think he’s going to be a great player and looking forward to hoping that touchdown gives him some confidence, and he’s going to make a lot of plays for us.”

Sunday’s win improved the Patriots’ record to 3-7 on the season. They beat the Jets in Week 8 but were coming off of a tough loss to the Titans last week.

“It means a lot to get the touchdown but I think it’s more important, and feels a lot better, knowing we played as a team and fought through adversity, and had belief in one another to go get a win,” Polk said.