Can Mitchell Trubisky keep his rookie magic going for the Chicago Bears (3-4)? He’ll have his work cut out for him when he brings his team to the Mrcedes-Benz Superdome to take on the New Orleans Saints (4-2) Sunday.
The game will be presented to you by the FOX television network and its affiliates at 1 p.m. EST.
The Game: Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints (-9)
O/U: 47.0
The History
The Saints and Bears have played 29 times since 1968. Chicago holds a 15-14 advantage in the all time series.
The Saints have won three consecutive games over Chicago beginning on September 18, 2011 to December 14, 2014.
The two teams have met in the playoffs twice with the Bears winning both games. On January 6, 1991 Chicago beat the Saints 16-6. On January 21, 2007 the Bears won 39-14.
That second playoff win was part of a four game win streak for Chicago. From November 6, 2005 to an overtime victory on December 11, 2008 the Bears won four straight over New Orleans.
CHICAGO BEARS (3-4)
Last week in a 17-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Mitchell Trubisky completed just 4-of-7 for 107 yards. That is not going to be enough against the Saints. I’m not sure why John Fox is handling Trubisky with such care, but considering they’ve won two straight you can’t argue with the results. The problem is, it’s not sustainable.
Last week the Bears defense picked off Cam Newton twice and forced a fumble, with Eddie Jackson returning two of them for the only touchdowns scored in the game. It was ugly, but when you get the dub at this point in the year, you can’t complain too much.
So did anything work for Chicago? Jordan Howard rushed 21 times for 65 yards. Tarik Cohen never got a carry, but he did catch one of those four passes for 70 yards. The other three went to Zach Miller and Tanner Gentry.
The defense sacked Newton five times last week and got nine stops in the backfield. The Bears enter this game mostly healthy. Sherrick McManis, Roy Robertson-Harris, John Timu and Markus Wheaton are all listed as doubtful.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (4-2)
When the season started, I had the Saints pegged for a Top 10 pick and figured Drew Brees would be throwing the ball for some other team in 2018. Now, eight weeks later they’re leading their division and are beating teams with basketball scores. You just can’t count Brees out.
As solid as the Saints have played recently, they just have a half game lead over the Carolina Panthers. They can’t afford a stumble or trap with the Bears.
Brees is on pace for 4,400 yards passing and about 30 touchdowns this season, which is pedestrian for him. The reason Brees is just averaging 275 yards and two touchdowns a game is the defense has finally shown up on the field. In two of their last three games they held the opposing team to 17 or fewer points. Now, granted, that’s not great, but New Orleans is a team that can consistently put up 30 plus, so anything lower than that is great.
Not only did Brees do his thing against the Green Bay Packers, but Mark Ingram carried the ball 22 times for 105 yards and a touchdown. Alvin Kamara had nine carries for 57 yards. This offense obviously works better with those two guys splitting the load. Tedd Ginn Jr. caught seven passes for 141 yards. Michael Thomas had seven hauls for 82 yards.
The defense finished up with a sack and five tackles for a loss. They forced one turnover and held the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers to 4-of-11 on third downs.
The only guy listed as out for New Orleans is guard Larry Worford. Tarron Armstead, Thomas and Willie Snead were all full go in practice.
The Pick
The only question about this game is if the Saints will beat that nine point spread. I think they do. The Bears are better with Trubisky at QB, but New Orleans is a contender. Saints 34, Bears 16
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 12-3
Against the spread: 7-8
Season
Straight up: 60-46
Against the spread: 50-56
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