Saints March Over Bears 36-25 at Soldier Field
Chicago, Ill - The New Orleans Saints offense had 423 total yards of offense without star RB Alvin Kamara and TE Jared Cook, as the Saints advance to 6-1, lead the NFC South with a road victory over the Chicago Bears (3-3).
The Bears opened the game with the first drive led by former #2 overall draft pick QB Mitchell Trubisky who had missed the previous two games because of a shoulder injury. Trubisky and the Bears went three and out, leading to a punt inside their own 30-yard line. The Saints special teams unit then gave the team a 2-0 lead from a safety because of a blocked punt by Saints’ J.T Gray on Bears Punter O’Donnell. The football rolled into the end zone where O’Donnell batted the ball out of the end zone for the safety. This was the first safety for the Saints since their 2018 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Two possessions later by the Bears, WR Anthony Miller put the ball on ground after S Vonn Bell forced and recovered the fumble. The call on the field initially deemed the second year receiver was down by contact. Sean Payton challenge the call, the call was reversed, and the Saints set up shop inside Bears territory at the 24 yard line. It took Bridgewater and company only 5 plays to find the end zone as TE Josh Hill collected his first touchdown of 2019 off a 7 yard pass from Teddy Bridgewater to give the Saints a 9-0 lead.
It took the Bears only fifteen seconds to respond. Kickoff return specialist Cordelle Patterson reached a top speed of 21 miles per hour on the 102 yard kickoff return and scored a touchdown. It was Patterson’s seventh career return for a touchdown, and the first the Saints surrendered since 2012 versus the New York Football Giants.
Oct 20, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (84) celebrates after running back a kickoff for a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
After the first quarter, the Saints out-gained the Bears 71 yards to 45 yards. The Bears began to drive down the field with back-to-back first downs by former Jaguars wide receiver Allen Robinson. DE Cameron Jordan disrupted the drive with his fifth sack of the season. The Bears settled for a 46-yard field goal attempt that gave them a 10-9 lead early in the second quarter.
The Saints started their opening drive of the second quarter at their own 29 yard line, where Teddy Bridgewater scrambled for a first down on third down. Bridgewater’s next two completions went to the NFL’s reception leader Michael Thomas, who caught two receptions of at least 15 yards. The Saints did not convert on third-down and settled for 3 points. Wil Lutz then set an NFL record with his 35 consecutive made field-goal on the road and gave the Saints a 12-10 lead.
Following a flurry of three and outs and a missed Lutz field goal, Deonte Harris returned a punt for 67 yards and a touchdown. However, the play was negated because of a Zach Line holding penalty. The Saints walked into the locker room with a 12-10 lead, holding the Bears to 11 rushing yards in the 1 half and only 26 total yards in the second quarter.
Teddy Bridgewater led the Saints out of the halftime break for a score for the second straight week. Bridgewater guided the offense with a quick 6 play drive capped off by a 3 yard Latavius Murray touchdown run. The big play on the drive was a 45-yard reception by the speedy veteran WR Ted Ginn, Jr.
The momentum started to favor the Saints as DE Marcus Davenport forced a fumble on Chicago’s running back David Montgomery. Linebacker A.J. Klein recovered the football, and the Saints began another drive inside the Bears 30 yard line. The Saints settled for a 52 yard field goal attempt. However, the attempt was Wil Lutz’ second miss of the day.
Oct 20, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; New Orleans Saints outside linebacker A.J. Klein (53) reacts after recovering a fumble against the Chicago Bears during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo, USA TODAY Sports
Following a three and out by Trubisky and company, the Saints pull out some trickery as fullback Zach Line received the hand off and option pitched it to the “Swiss Army Knife” Taysom Hill who picked up 23 yards and a first down for the reigning NFC South champions. They rewarded Hill for his efforts on a 4-yard touchdown reception off a wide receiver screen, as the Saints began to pull away with a 25-10 lead, after the 11 play, 76 yard drive.
Following the end of the third quarter and a Wil Lutz field goal that gave the Saints a 29-10 lead, the Bears picked up their first 1 down in over a quarter and a half before turning the ball over on downs. The following New Orleans drive Michael Thomas gained another 34 yards to add to his 2019 resume, before Latavius Murray claimed his second touchdown of the game to go alongside his first 119 yard rushing performance as a Saints player.
After the Saints scored 27 unanswered points and the game in hand with a 36-10 lead, the Saints defense played a softer coverage keeping everything in front of them. The result was a quick 10 play 75 yard drive by a struggling Bears offense that resulted in an Allen Robinson touchdown and a successful 2 point conversion.
Down 18 points, Matt Nagy trotted the kick unit onto the field for an onside kick. This was the first successful attempt this season in the NFL a kicking team. The recovery setup the Bears for back-to-back scoring drives. Bears WR Javon Wims scored in late in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Saints held their breath as starting CB Eli Apple was injured “as his foot got caught in the turf” before Wims caught the touchdown on the play.
The Bears second onside kick attempt was unsuccessful as the team recovered, however recovered with a foot out of bounds. Thus, resulting in Saints ball and a 36-25 victory for the Bayou Boys.
Oct 20, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) and Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (10) meet after the game at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Saints improve to 6-1 on the season and 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater as the starting quarterback. New Orleans returns home on Sunday to take on the Arizona Cardinals (3-3-1) who are on a three-game win streak led by first-round overall draft pick QB Kyler Murray.
