In short, the Bears fight hard but lose to the Saints in New Orleans.
The Bears had more yards than the Saints (368 to 301), and they played better for most of Sunday’s game. But the main reason they lost 24–17 to New Orleans was that they gave up five turnovers.
At 7, 14, and 17 points each, the score was tied. With 11:05 left in the game, Taysom Hill threw a 3-yard pass to Juwan Johnson within the back for the end zone, giving the Saints the lead.
Coach Matt Eberflus said, “The story of that particular day was really what we learned.” “Most of the league is tied, and it’s tough to win when you’re down five…”
“That’s a team effort; we need to protect it, protect the quarterback, get it on defense, and do a better job for taking the football away.”
The Bears had several chances to score after the Saints took a 24–17 lead. The offense was sharp and effective in the first half, but on its last four drives, it managed only 14 yards on 13 plays along with a first down. This was after three turnovers or a punt.
WR DJ Moore said, “The defense played lights out.” “They did give out some points, but when they counted, they stepped down to the clutch as well as did what’s they had to do, and we have just got to make the most on it.”
Tyson Bagent started for the third time in a row because Justin Fields was hurt. He completed 18 out of 30 passes over 220 yards as well as two scores and ran eight times for 70 yards. But the rookie to Shepherd University who wasn’t picked in the draft also lost a fumble and threw three picks.
The Bears (2-7) were only down seven points late in the game because the Saints (5-4) couldn’t score on a trio of fourth-quarter drives that began at the Chicago 38, 46, and 36.
This was the first time T.J. Edwards and Andrew Billings worked together to stop Derek Carr upon a fourth-and-1 QB sneak at the 17.
After a three-and-out, the defense forced a punt and then gave up one yard over the next three plays. The kicker, Blake Grupe, then missed a 47-yard kick try that hit the left upright.
In the first half, Bagent played great. He completed 10 out of 13 passes, threw two touchdowns, picked off one pass, and had a passer rating of 121.2. He also ran six times for 60 yards.
Bagent’s 18-yard touchdown pass with Cole Kmet capped off a great nine-play, 75-yard drive for the Bears that put them ahead 7-0.
Bagent feigned a handoff, rolled onto his left, and passed back across the field to Kmet in the right corner of the end zone. Kmet was able to get past safety Tyrann Mathieu, who was close to him.
To start the Bears’ second drive, cornerback Paulson Adebo picked off Bagent’s pass to Kmet and ran it back five yards towards the Chicago 45.
New Orleans used the turnover to tie the game at 7-7 with a touchdown pass from Carr to Chris Olave from 8 yards out on third-and-6 with 1:44 left in the opening quarter. Carr made 25 out of 34 passes over 211 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 108.8. He was not sacked during the game.
It took all of that for the New Orleans Saints to beat the failing Chicago Bears and stay on top of the NFC South.
The Saints beat the Bears 24–17 on Sunday. Hill caught a touchdown pass and threw for another. Adebo picked off two passes and forced a fumble that he recovered.
Hill’s catching touchdown made him the first NFL player since Frank Gifford of the New York Giants (retired after the 1964 season) to score more than ten touchdowns as a passer (11), runner (26), as well as receiver (10).
“You must be very proud of that, right?” Allen, the coach of the Saints, said, “Half the guys in our locker room wouldn’t know who Frank Gifford is.”
Hill, who used to play quarterback for BYU and is 33 years old, said that he knew about Gifford because Saints analysts had told them about him.
Hill said, “When I think about my career, I didn’t think it would have passed the way it has.” But it’s too much for me to handle when I hear and think about things like that.
Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this school and play in coaches who are sufficiently imaginative to give me chances.
There were five mistakes for the Saints (5-4), with rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent being picked off three times and two fumbles recovered.
Those plays changed the balance of a game where Bagent, who wasn’t picked in the draft, and the Bears (2-7) often threw off the Saints’ defense.
The Bears gained 368 yards over New Orleans and had the ball for just over half of the game.
Since October 2017, the Saints are 4-0 against the Bears. On Sunday, they’ll have the opportunity to keep that streak going.
The New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears will play at Caesars Superdome at 1:00 p.m. ET and win.
The last game the Bears played ended in a loss. They will be looking to get back on track against the Saints, who just won.
Last Sunday, New Orleans gave upward the first points, but they didn’t give up. By a score of 38–27, they beat the Colts.
Not a single Chicago player had a great game, but Tyson Bagent as well as Darrynton Evans scored. With the win, New Orleans is now even at 4-4. Chicago’s record dropped to 2-6 after their loss.