Last Sunday, the Chicago Bears defense made a statement against the Carolina Panthers, dominating Cam Newton & Co. to carry the Bears to their second consecutive win.
This week, Chicago traveled to New Orleans to battle the Saints in an extremely interesting matchup. It was a homecoming, of sorts, for Ryan Pace, who left the Saints to take on the Bears’ GM job. And it’s clear from his first three years that he’s attempting to build the Bears’ roster with that model in mind. My SM colleague, Erik Lambert, breaks it down here.
Today’s game pitted future Hall of Famer Drew Brees against the Bears’ rookie quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, whom Pace envisions to be his version of Brees going forward. There were many questions needing answers from this game: Will the offensive game plan finally open up? Can the Bears keep up their stellar defensive play against a talented and supremely disciplined Saints offense on their home turf? And finally, will Chicago stamp themselves as legitimate playoff contenders with a massive upset on the road headed into their bye week?
Well, though the Bears fought valiantly, especially on defense yet again, they shot themselves in the foot a few too many times, and had a couple of breaks go against them, in an expected yet still disheartening loss to the Saints. Here’s what we learned going into the bye week:
1. New Bears wide receiver Dontrelle Inman was inactive for today’s game. There was a chance he could see a few snaps on some simple routes, but I think they made the right call to sit him this week. Expect him to be their #1 receiver after the bye week.
2. Sloppy start by the Bears defense. Bryce Callahan slipped on the Saints’ first third down, giving up 54 yards to Brandon Coleman. And then after holding the offense to a field goal try, Kyle Fuller lined up offsides on said try to give up a first down — an inexcusable mistake. One play later, Alvin Kamara waltzed into the end zone. This team can’t make those kinds of mistakes in games where they already have their work cut out for them.
3. On the Bears’ second drive, the play-calling was nice and balanced. The pass protection held up beautifully on Trubisky’s 45-yard pass to Tre McBride. And then with 1st-and-Goal to go, I have no idea what Chicago was doing. The play-calling was, yet again, predictable and unimaginative. You can’t let scoring opportunities in the red zone go by against the Saints at the Superdome. And the Bears blew it with their play-calling there.
4. Lots of missed tackles by the defense today. Their tackling had been extremely reliable the last two games. That has to get cleaned up going forward.
5. The balance of the Saints offense ultimately undid Chicago’s strong defense. And they executed very well. Teams had been unable to run the ball on this defense. But the Saints’ scheming was terrific.
6. Mitch Trubisky to Tre McBride. The big play combination that was so obvious before kickoff.
7. Bears’ offensive play-calling at the end of the first half … I really don’t know what they’re doing.
8. Connor Barth – you have one job. I’d be stunned if Chicago didn’t have a new kicker next week. Other than his game winner against the Ravens (that was creeping right, as is), he’s been unreliable. Can’t have that.
9. Unacceptable play calling to open the second half. Unacceptable. This happens every week. What is the point of deferring to the second half if you just decide to give up that possession? Unreal. Get a clue.
10. Zach Miller – brutal injury. I feel so bad for the guy. Hell of a football player and leader who gets bitten by the worst injury bugs. It did not look good. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery but my guess is his season’s over.
11. On that Miller play, what the hell are the refs doing overturning that call? That was even more a catch than Calvin Johnson’s infamous call. The ball didn’t hit the ground! Unbelievable. That call costs the Bears four crucial points when they needed that momentum. Unacceptable.
12. Don’t like John Fox’s decision to challenge that forward pass from Drew Brees at all. Not sure who gave him the OK to challenge but his in-game tactics continue to confound.
13. Mitch Trubisky’s athleticism is a lifesaver.
14. Jordan Howard. Elite runner; awful receiver. He dropped another possible touchdown in crunch time. That can’t happen.
15. Still, well done by the Bears to finish that drive with a touchdown. Great to see Trubisky take over in a hostile environment – he missed some throws but made good decisions, especially when choosing to run the ball himself.
16. And when the Bears needed a stop, Drew Brees split Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson right down the middle in double coverage to essentially salt the game away. Yes, the Saints got away with an OPI, but the defense has to locate that ball better.
17. No worries, though. Adrian Amos got this team. What a play to force the second fumble from Mark Ingram on back-to-back possessions. Amazing. We’ve mentioned Amos’s name weekly since he took over for Quintin Demps. There’s a reason for it. He’s been awesome.
18. I actually don’t mind Loggains’ decision to pass on 3rd-and-1 there. But I’d have run it on 4th down with nobody expecting it. It’s one of those classic examples of being a bad call because it didn’t work.
19. Miscommunication on the game-clinching interception by Marshon Lattimore on Trubisky’s pass that didn’t come close to finding Tre McBride. Tough way to lose.
20. Overall, an outstanding effort from the Bears defense, yet again. They hung in very well despite going against a very healthy Saints team. They gave the offense a chance yet again. I’m excited to see this team in two weeks, after the bye.
21. Bears are still in great shape to put up a respectable season in the second half. They’re 3-5 when most people figured they’d be lucky to win one game in the first half. With the schedule lightening up, the playoffs are now very unlikely, but an 8-8 or even 9-7 finish isn’t out of the question.
