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Matchups Against Saints Challenge Bears in Every Way

Finding ways to win head to head against Marshon Lattimore, Michael Thomas and Cameron Jordan is enough to give Bears coaches nightmares in a game against the Saints that figures to be possibly the most difficult in the Matt Nagy coaching era.

 Coaches view games in situations, players more in matchups.

For instance, going into the sixth game Matt Nagy's Bears defense has to worry about this habit it has developed of blowing fourth-quarter leads. As a true coach from the offensive side, he's blaming his offense.

"For us, it's been getting off the field on fourth downs," Nagy said. "There's been a little bit of that where it's extended drives. But, yeah, our guys understand there's parts to the game and finishing, fourth quarter-wise.

"And then how can (we get) that help. Well, offensively, we can help the defense by having the ball a little bit longer in the fourth quarter."

The Saints might have the best personnel of all the teams the Bears have faced since losing 38-31 to the New England Patriots in last season's sixth game.

Here are four key matchups for Chicago against New Orleans.

Winning these would go a long way toward giving the Bears possibly their most impressive win since Nagy became coach, even more so than the Sept. 29 win over Minnesota.

Charles Leno Jr. vs. Cameron Jordan

Actually, in this one it's Cameron Jordan against anyone. The Saints will move Jordan around extensively, and he could be facing Bobby Massie or even coming from up the middle at a tackle spot. On occasion, he's stood up behind the line like a blitzing linebacker, a 6-foot-4, 287-pound athletic, strong linebacker Jordan might be experiencing his best season with five sacks already. He is their version of Khalil Mack.

The reason the Saints might choose to put him across from Leno is obviously the way Leno has struggled this season. He's committed eight penalties and has been shaky in pass blocking. And run blocking? No Bears lineman has been good at run blocking.

Bears offensive line coach Harry Hiestand blmed some of the four holding penalties on the NFL officials' decision to emphasize holding earlier.

"He'll be fine. He works too hard," Hiestand said. "He's very prideful. He comes every day to get better. If it was happening because he was being lazy or not giving effort and sloppy, that'd be different, but it's the opposite."

Allen Robinson II vs. Marshon Lattimore

Robinson has never had five consecutive games with more receptions than he has had in the first five games (31). It's a good thing because no one else in the receiver corps has been able to put together consistent numbers as a contributor. He's catching vertically along the sidelines or coming across the middle. About the only thing they haven't used him for successfully is a flat-out go route past a defender on a traditional bomb. Lattimore isn't the classic tall cornerback, but has decent size at 6 feet, has a great vertical leap and real ability to snatch the ball. He is on a hot streak, with eight passes defensed in the last four games, a really high number. That includes three passes defensed and an interception against Jacksonville and Gardner Minshew last week.

"There's a lot of really good corners in this league and he falls in that category," Bears coach Matt Nagy said about Lattimore. "He’s one of those guys that we’ll match with your top receiver, so you understand that. And it's to our players credit — well, not credit, but their job — to study techniques and see what are his strengths or what are his weaknesses and how are we gonna attack that. But really good player and he’s in a top echelon of DBs, so we know that."

Robinson doesn't mind facing a lockdown cornerback who will match up on receivers all over the field even if it is a scheme relying on zone coverage.

"I mean you get a good feel for a guy," Robinson said. "Again I mean when you're lined up with him each and every snap throughout the course of the game it makes it pretty exciting.

"I mean for me, I like it. Again, I mean you're matched up with somebody the whole game. So it's like boxing. You get a feel for them."

Khalil Mack vs. Ryan Ramczyk

No one is going to take on Mack one on one, and the Saints likely will get help to their 2017 first-round pick from Wisconsin. Ramczyk, at 6-foot-6, 314, has enough foot quickness to stay with Mack. Ramczyk has not been saddled with a sack allowed this season after allowing only two his first two seasons. He didn't even allow a pressure when going against Tampa Bay's Shaquil Barrett, who leads the NFL with nine sacks. Mack has 4 1/2 sacks but was barely noticed in the loss against the Raiders in London, except when he fell on an errant pitchout. Mack has four forced fumbles, evidence of his ability to get around the edge even against tackles as strong as Ramczyk. Outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino this week revealed Mack had some sort of medical issue in the Raiders game that wasn't identified, but it apparently has been solved. The bigger issues for Mack in that one were the number of defenders sent at him and the absence of Akiem Hicks on the line. It's not as easy to come inside off the left edge of the Bears defense when Hicks isn't there caving in the pass blocking. And it's not easy fighting off three blockers.

Is Mack angered enough by the way he was shoved around to make a statement Sunday?

"You'll see," promised defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

Prince Amukamara vs. Michael Thomas

Thomas lines up all over the formation so it's going to be on everyone to cover him, from safeties to cornerbacks to nickel back Buster Skrine. Make no mistake, if they aren't checking it down to a back or throwing a screen pass, the Saints are throwing to Thomas. He has 55 percent of the catches made by wide receivers and tight ends (53 receptions) and has made 22 more catches than Allen Robinson has. He is a do-it-all-type of receiver. Amukamara has rebounded from some earlier shaky play and after the last game was ranked the 15th best cornerback in the league this season by Pro Football Focus even though he has allowed 12 receptions in 18 targets for 157 yards. The whole secondary is trying to figure out what to do about Thomas, though.

"His stats speak for (themselves) the type of player he is," safety Eddie Jackson said. "We know it's going to be a tough one so we've just got to be able to come in and play our keys, keep our eyes in the right spot and just contain him."

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