The Saints didn’t quite come marching into Soldier Field on Sunday, and the Bears sent them home. A four-game winning streak puts the Bears at 4-2 with some tough games ahead.
A few storylines ran through the week leading up to the game. The Saints starting quarterback, Spencer Rattler, lost his starting job at Oklahoma in 2021 to a young Caleb Williams. Rattler would transfer to South Carolina and end up being drafted by the Saints in the 5th round in 2024. Williams would follow head coach Lincoln
Riley to USC, win a Heisman, and be drafted by the Bears #1 overall in 2024.
The Bears defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, coached the New Orleans defense both in the late 2000s (assistant) and again in the late 2010s (defensive coordinator), before being promoted to head coach in 2022. As head coach, his team was known for tough defense and a strong running game, something the Bears have been plenty familiar with in their history. Allen was fired mid-way through last season, and he came to Chicago to be the new defensive coordinator under coach Ben Johnson. Would Allen still know what the Saints want to run in this game?
As the Bears hosted the Saints in an October matchup on the lake front, here’s a run down of each quarter, and which team won it:
First Quarter: Turnovers
The Bears won the coin toss and chose to receive the football. They went three-and-out, after Chase Young tipped and very nearly intercepted a screen pass intended for DJ Moore, and the Bears then couldn’t convert after a false start on Theo Benedet made it third and long.
Bears got the ball right back, though after Montez Sweat stripped the ball from Spencer Rattler’s hand and Gervon Dexter recovered. Starting deep in Saints’ territory, the Bears had a pair of good runs by Kyle Monangai, but also a pair of bad snaps that de-railed the drive and led to a Jake Moody 27 yard field goal. 3-0 Bears.
Soldier Field got loud on the ensuing New Orleans drive, where the Saints went three-and-out. Caleb Williams connected with Cole Kmet and D’Andre Swift on nice passes, but the latter was called back for offensive pass interference. Chase Young then got in the way of a backfield pass again, and on 3rd and very long, Caleb Williams threw an ill-advised pass and was picked off by Quincy Riley of the Saints.
The Saints moved the chains for the first time of the day on their next drive, which started around midfield, but the Bears defense was able to force a 53-yard field goal, which sailed wide right. With the Bears back on offense starting at their own 43 yard line, Williams connected with Rome Odunze for a couple of first down passes, both of which had the young receiver making nice moves after the catch.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bears were driving down the field, but only holding a 3 point lead. The Bears had 82 yards on offense to the Saints’ 27, and moved the chains 4 times to the Saints’ 1, so the Bears won this quarter. Both defenses had a takeaway.
Second Quarter: Bears Take Control
The Bears were unable to keep their drive going to start the second quarter, and after Williams scrambled around for what felt like a whole week on third down and found nothing, the Bears settled for a Moody field goal. 6-0 Bears.
The Saints got the ball back and immediately crossed midfield, after a deep pass drew defensive pass interference on Tremaine Edmunds. A pair of sacks by Bears’ defensive backs Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker, plus an illegal formation penalty on the Saints made it third and long, but the Saints got a new set of downs after Brisker was called for roughing the passer on the next play. That play will prove controversial, because Brisker’s hand clearly tipped the ball out of Rattler’s hand before it came down on the quarterback’s helmet.
The drive ended with Nashon Wright intercepting a bad pass from Rattler, running it back deep into Saints territory. We had a Roschon Johnson sighting on offense, with the third-year running back picking up a first down on a 9 yard run. D’Andre Swift then came back onto the field and carried the rock 11 yards for a touchdown. That made it two times to that point the Bears have scored off takeaways that started them in Saints’ territory. 13-0 Bears.
The Saints took over on offense but went backwards, after Domonique Robinson sacked Taysom Hill (plugged in for a package play in typical Saints fashion) and TJ Edwards made a nice tackle for a loss on an outside pass. A deep shot from Rattler to Chris Olave was caught out of bounds, and the Saints punted. It looked like the Bears got a fingertip on the punt, so it didn’t go far and they started their drive at their own 45 yard line. Of note: After the sacks and backwards plays the Bears have force, the Saints had only 4 offensive yards to this point, halfway through the second quarter.
The Bears were able to move the chains with a pair of moderate runs by Swift, then Williams connected with DJ Moore, who made some nice moves after the catch to pick up 26 yards and get the Bears into the redzone. Williams scrambled around again and ended up throwing into traffic incomplete. An 8 yard run by Swift, and a 9 yard pass to Loveland set the Bears up on goal-to-go before Kyle Monangai nearly carried it in tot he endzone on a push-the-pile type of play. It was blown dead, but Monangai finished it off on the next play. Touchdown. 20-0 Bears.
The ensuing Saints drive was started by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Kyler Gordon, giving the Saints a new set of downs past midfield. A couple short runs by Kamara and a short pass to Juwan Johnson set up 4th and 1, where the Bears defense stood tall and forced a turnover on downs. The Bears couldn’t get anything going on their gift of a drive, after two consecutive passing plays saw Caleb scramble but throw incomplete, and Olamide Zaccheaus was hit hard and tackled short of the sticks after a short catch.
A very nice punt by Tory Taylor set the Saints up at their own 9 yard line with 1:08 to go, but the Bears defense finally cracked. Tyrique Stevenson was burned by Chris Olave for a 58 yard pass, and then Olave found a hole in a zone for a 21 yard touchdown reception. 20-7 Bears.
The Bears led by two scores at halftime, with the Saints scheduled to get the ball to start the second half. It was a dominant quarter by the Bears, where they outscored their opponent 17-7, but that last touchdown was frustrating. It’s not a question that the Bears won that quarter, but Chris Olave gets an honorable mention. The Saints may be bad, but he single-handedly kept his team in the game right there.
Also Caleb struggled:
Third Quarter: Another Bears Takeaway
The Saints were gifted a first down via a strange defensive holding call on a run play. A Taysom Hill first down run, followed buy a pair of first down passes to Juwan Johnson, set the Saints up at the Bears’ 20 yard line. Rattler threw another pass to Olave, and neither Nashon Wright nor Kevin Byard could stop him from scoring. 20-14 Bears.
The Bears got first downs on four straight plays, with passes to Moore and Luther Burden followed by a pair of nice runs by Swift to put the ball at the Saints’ 7 yard line. A trio of short runs by Swift made it 4th and goal from the 1 yard line. The Bears attempted to go for it, but a double-clutch snap by Drew Dalman pushed the ball back 5 yards. A Jake Moody field goal made it 23-14 Bears. Heartbreaking that such a beautiful drive only ended in three points.
On the next Saints drive, they moved the chains once before they attempted another deep shot which was intercepted by Kevin Byard. The Bears took over and completed a couple passes to Kyle Monangai, the second of which ended in a first down after three broken tackles. A bit of trickery to get DJ Moore in space gained 9, and Monangai moved the chains again on a short run to close the quarter.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bears battled to protect a two-score lead, and the Saints continued to take deep shots with little success outside of Olave’s catch before the half. The Saints outscored the Bears 7-3 in the third, but the Bears controlled the ball for almost the whole quarter after the Saints’ opening drive. This one should be considered a wash, as it’s still a two-score game, with Kevin Byard being the real winner of the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Bears Put the Game Away
The Bears’ drive stalled when Chase Young sacked Caleb Williams on 3rd down, and a Tory Taylor punt set the Saints up at their own 21 yard line. They moved the chains on a short pass from Rattler to Shaheed, but then Tremaine Edmunds sacked Rattler for a loss of 10. Another deep pass was nearly intercepted by Kevin Byard, but Nashon Wright accidentally crashed into him and the pass fell incomplete. On 3rd and 20, the Saints ran a trick play to pick up a first down. Ben Johnson challenged it, and the referees agreed that it was an illegal forward pass, so the Saints punted.
The Bears leaned on Swift to start the next drive, with a 21 yard run to move the ball down the field, and a scramble-drill catch on a dumpoff which he turned into another first down. Solid yardage pickups by Cole Kmet and Kyle Monangai set the Bears up at the Saints’ 14 yard line, but they settled for a field goal to make it 26-14 Bears. Jake Moody 4-4 on field goals, and 8-9 as a Bear going back to last week. Is it still Cairo’s job?
The Saints picked up a pair of first downs on moderate yardage passes, but came to 4th and 1 at the Bears’ 26 yard line. Rattler wanted a play to the flat, but the Bears did a great job shutting that down by smacking Kamara before the route began, and Rattler instead threw into traffic and it was tipped up, then picked off by Tremaine Edmunds.
On a drive to put the game away, Kyle Monangai started with a great run of 23 yards. After the Saints began taking their timeouts, Swift ran 11 yards for a first down. The Bears ran the clock out from there.
Their wasn’t much scoring in the fourth quarter, with the Bears out-scoring the Saints 3-0. The Bears were able to force another turnover and that was the game. The Bears won quarters one, two, and four, and I’m scoring the third quarter as a tie despite the point differential. That’s winning football.
What are your thoughts? Does 4-2 sound good to you, going into a matchup against (probably) Lamar Jackson and the Ravens? After a rocky start to the season, a four-game winning streak really helps the Bears set up a playoff run in December.
