FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- It will be a family affair for Patriots running back Shane Vereen when his team hosts the Chicago Bears on Sunday. Vereen's younger brother Brock is a safety on the Bears, and Sunday marks their first time playing against each other.

A reporter asked Vereen if Brock had ever landed any football hits on him.

“I have not been hit by my brother,” Vereen said. “Not in pads.

“I definitely think he is looking forward to [hitting me]," he said. "So am I.”

While Shane Vereen attended the University of California, Brock Vereen played his college ball at Minnesota, where he was a versatile defensive back who was named first team all-Big Ten in his senior season. Brock was drafted by the Bears late in the fourth round of the 2014 draft and has settled in as a consistent contributor on the defense.

The Vereens' family and friends will be piling in to Gillette Stadium on Sunday to watch the brothers play.

“Yeah [my parents] are coming,” Vereen said. “There is going to be a lot of family here.”

When asked about whether his family would be wearing Patriots or Bears’ colors, Vereen laughed.

“Yeah, last time I spoke to my mother she said she was wearing neutral,” Vereen said. “She would be wearing no colors. But we will see, I think that’s going to change.”

One reporter joked that Vereen wouldn’t let his mother receive the ticket if she was wearing the Bears’ colors. Vereen said “we will see, she might switch it up on me.”

As the Patriots' lead running back after the season-ending injury to Stevan Ridley, Vereen is likely to receive a large sum of carries and offensive snaps Sunday, as he played 48 of 60 snaps in Thursday night’s win over the Jets. With Shane’s increased workload, Brock will have more than enough opportunities to get his first hit and then some on big brother Shane.

While Shane is looking forward his first game against his brother, he is focused on the offense improving, especially on the ground, after the team struggled against the Jets. The Patriots were beat out in time of possession as the Jets controlled the football for 40:54 -- with the Pats at just 19:06.

“I think that as an offense we would like to have more control of the football,” Vereen said. “A lot of that comes into the run game, which we are going to have to do a very good job with this week.

“The Bears have a good defense and we are going to have to hold onto the ball offensively and give our defense more of a spell.”