Saints vs. Bears | Week 8 Matchup
In a battle of NFC powers, the Saints (4-2) will travel to Soldier Field to face the Chicago Bears (5-2) on Sunday for a 3:25 CT contest, riding a three-game winning streak.
The Saints are coming off a 27-24 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday led by two touchdown passes, a one-yard rushing touchdown and a fourth quarter game-winning drive for the go-ahead field goal by QB Drew Brees. It marked his 52nd career fourth quarter/overtime game-winning drive, ranked second to Peyton Manning (54) in the Super Bowl era. In addition to Brees' scoring dive, the club's running backs also made a significant contribution as RBs Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara combined for 195 total yards from scrimmage, with Kamara having 148 combined yards and Murray serving as the sledgehammer final drive, contributing nine yards to New Orleans' game-clinching first down. The Saints also were a season-best 12-of-14 (85.7%) on third down.
Defensively, New Orleans allowed only 283 net yards to Chicago in an impressive defensive performance where they gave up only 37 rushing yards on 14 carries (2.6), the fewest rushing yards surrendered by the Saints in 2020. The New Orleans defense allowed only seven points in the second half and DE Marcus Davenport helped seal the win when he dropped Panthers QB Teddy Bridgewater for an eight-yard loss on third down on Carolina's final possession, forcing them to attempt what was an unsuccessful 65-yard field goal try.
A fast start was important in a contest where New Orleans won the time of possession battle 34:41-25:19. Brees led New Orleans on their most impressive starting drive of the season, a 14-play, 75-yard drive that chewed 8:26 off the clock, ending with a four-yard touchdown pass to TE Jared Cook. New Orleans then took a 7-3 edge into the second quarter by holding Carolina to a field goal.
New Orleans took a 14-3 edge early in the second quarter on a one-yard rushing touchdown by Brees. Carolina quickly took the lead when Bridgewater tossed touchdown passes to Panthers WR D.J. Moore on Carolina's next two drives. With 1:37 left in the half, Brees led New Orleans on an eight-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to WR Deonte Harty to put the Saints back on top heading into halftime.
New Orleans then forced the only punt of the contest to open the third quarter and followed it up with a 41-yard field goal by K Wil Lutz to give the Saints a 24-17 lead with 4:24 left in the period. Later in the quarter, a five-yard rushing touchdown by Panthers RB Curtis Samuel tied the score at 24-24.
Getting the ball back, Brees led a 13-play, 50-yard drive that ended with a 43-yard field goal by Lutz to give the Saints the 27-24 lead they would hold onto.
Saints vs. Bears | Week 8 Broadcast Information
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2020 – 3:25 P.M. (CST)
SOLDIER FIELD – CHICAGO, IL
- TV: FOX (WVUE FOX 8 locally) – Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color analyst), Mike Pereira (rules) and Erin Andrews (sideline)
- NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Radio – Larry Kahn (play-by-play) and Doug Plank (color analyst)
- LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Zach Strief (play-by-play) and Deuce McAllister (color analyst)
- SPANISH LANGUAGE RADIO: KGLA (830 AM and 105.7 FM) – Mario Jerez (play-by-play), Juan Carlos Ramos and Victor Quinonez (color analysts)
Chicago Bears | Top Stats in Week 7
- Nick Foles: 28/40 for 261 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
- David Montgomery: 14 rushes for 48 yards
- Allen Robinson: 4 receptions for 70 yards
New Orleans Saints | Top Stats in Week 7
- Drew Brees: 29-36 for 287 yards, 2 TD
- Alvin Kamara: 14 carries for 83 yards + 8 catches for 65 yards
- Marquez Callaway: 8 receptions for 75 yards
Chicago Bears | Week 7 Recap at Los Angeles Rams
from ChicagoBears.com
The Bears were outplayed on both sides of the ball Monday night in Los Angeles, falling to 5-2 with a 24-10 loss to the Rams at SoFi Stadium.
The Bears offense failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season and has now been limited to five TDs in its last four games after generating nine touchdowns in its first three contests.
The Bears reached the red zone twice Monday night. But Nick Foles threw an interception from the 9 with the Rams leading 17-3 in the third quarter, and then Foles was sacked on fourth-and-goal from the 4 in the fourth period while trailing 24-3.
Saints vs Bears | Series History
New Orleans leads the Saints-Bears regular season series 16-13, one of 12 clubs they have a winning record against. The Saints have dropped both playoff contests against Chicago, both of them played at Soldier Field. They will also be looking to extend the series win streak to six games. New Orleans has taken the last five meetings, including a 36-25 win on October 20, 2019 at Soldier Field. Of the 29 regular season contests in the all-time series, 14 have been decided by eight points or less, including seven of the last ten matchups. New Orleans has posted a 9-8 record against the Bears in road contests, with the 2002 contest played at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium due to renovations taking place at Soldier Field.
Saints vs Bears | Statistical Comparison from 2020
| Saints | Bears | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 4-2 | 5-2 |
| Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) | 30.0 (7) | 21.3 (27) |
| Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL Rank) | 29.0 (24t) | 19.3 (7) |
| Total Off. (NFL Rank) | 384.5 (11) | 308.0 (29) |
| Rushing Off. (NFL Rank) | 118.8 (14) | 84.1 (32) |
| Passing Off. (NFL Rank) | 265.7 (9) | 223.9 (25) |
| Total Def. (NFL Rank) | 328.3 (7) | 342.0 (10) |
| Rushing Def. (NFL Rank) | 89.7 (4) | 119.9(16) |
| Passing Def. (NFL Rank) | 238.7 (17) | 222.1 (8) |
| Kickoff Return Avg. (NFL Rank) | 25.3 (8) | 27.6 (4) |
| Punt Return Avg. (NFL Rank) | 11.9 (5) | 4.3 (30) |
| Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) | Even (17t) | Even (17t) |
| Penalties | 39 | 45 |
| Penalty Yards | 508 | 437 |
| Opp. Penalties | 21 | 45 |
| Opp. Penalty Yards | 190 | 416 |
Saints vs Bears | Connections
New Orleans Head Coach Sean Payton is a Naperville, Illinois native and played QB at Naperville Central High School. He earned a communications degree from Eastern Illinois, posting 10,665 passing yards as a three-time Associated Press All-American. Payton played in the Arena Football League with the Chicago Bruisers and briefly with the Bears in 1987. He was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Hall of Fame and has his number retired. He also tutored quarterbacks for a year at the University of Illinois Payton has a sister and niece who live in Skokie
Chicago TE Jimmy Graham was a third round draft pick of New Orleans in 2010 and played five seasons for the team, ranking fifth in club record books in receiving, most at his position with 386 receptions for 5,512 yards and 32 touchdowns
Chicago General Manager Ryan Pace served in several capacities in the New Orleans front office before being tabbed to lead the Bears football operation in 2015, most recently as Director of Player Personnel from 2013-15. Bears Director of Football Administration Joey Laine, Director of Player Personnel Josh Lucas and Director of College Scouting Mark Sadowski all worked in the New Orleans front office
Saints Senior Offensive Assistant/Wide Receivers Curtis Johnson served as wide receivers coach in Chicago in 2016. Johnson and Bears Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano served on the same University of Miami staff from 1996-2000
New Orleans Pass Rush Specialist Brian Young and Assistant Head Coach/Tight Ends Dan Campbell played with Chicago Wide Receivers Coach Mike Furrey in St. Louis and Detroit respectively
Saints Senior Defensive Assistant Peter Giunta and Chicago Tight Ends Coach Kevin M. Gilbride served on the same New York Giants staff from 2010-14...Bears DT Akiem Hicks was a third round draft pick of the Saints in 2012 and played for the club from 2012-15
New Orleans Defensive Assistant Michael Hodges served on the coaching staff at Eastern Illinois from 2014-16, coaching linebackers from 2014-15 and serving as co-defensive coordinator his final season in Charleston
New Orleans Assistant Offensive Line Coach Brendan Nugent served on the Bears coaching staff from 2013-14…New Orleans radio play-byplay voice Zach Strief played at Northwestern from 2002-05
Saints Offensive Line Coach Dan Roushar was a twoyear letterman at quarterback at Northern Illinois and later had two stints on their coaching staff in 1984 and from 1997-2002
Saints DB Justin Hardee played at Illinois.
New Orleans WR Austin Carr played at Northwestern
Bears WR Ted GInn Jr. played for New Orleans from 2017-19 and his father, Ted Ginn Sr. coached Hardee and Saints CB Marshon Lattimore at Glenville High School in Cleveland
New Orleans Combine Scout Matt Phillips is the son of Chicago President & CEO Matt Phillips
Roushar and Bears Offensive Line Coach Juan Castillo served on the same coaching staff in Philadelphia with Payton from 1997-98
Saints Secondary Coach Aaron Glenn and Bears Special Teams Coordinator Chris Tabor served on the same staff in Cleveland from 2014-15
Chicago DL Mario Edwards Jr. played for New Orleans in 2019
New Orleans Assistant General Manager/College Scouting Director Jeff Ireland is the grandson of former longtime Bears personnel executive Jim Parmer
New Orleans Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen and Bears Defensive Line Coach Jay Rodgers served on the same Denver staff in 2011. Brees and Rodgers, who made his coaching debut as a graduate assistant at LSU from 2001-02, were high school teammates at Austin (Texas) Westlake HS. Brees and Bears QB Nick Foles both prepped at Austin Westlake as they and Peyton and Eli Manning (Newman HS) are the only two duos of Super Bowl winning quarterbacks hailing from the same high school. Foles also played with CB Patrick Robinson and S Malcolm Jenkins in Philadelphia where they were Super Bowl winning teammates. Saints RB Latavius Murray and Bears OLB Khalil Mack where teammates in Oakland from 2004-16, where Allen served as Mack's head coach for the start of his NFL career
Bears T Bobby Massie played at the University of Mississippi
New Orleans QB Jameis Winston played with Chicago K Cairo Santos in Tampa Bay in 2019. Santos is a former Tulane standout
Chicago LB Barkevious Mingo prepped at West Monroe HS and played for Cleveland with Saints LB Craig Robertson from 2013-15.
Saints vs Bears | Series Fast Facts
Saints' Largest Margin of Victory: 22 points, Saints won 28-6 on 9/13/92 at Louisiana Superdome.
Bears' Largest Margin of Victory: 25 points, Bears won 42-17 on 12/21/75 at Louisiana Superdome.
Current Series Streak: Saints won last five contests, 9/18/11-present.
Saints' Longest Win Streak: Five games, 9/18/11-present.
Bears' Longest Win Streak: Three games, 12/1/68–10/10/71.
Most Points by Saints in a Game: 42 points, Saints won42-24 on 10/2/77 at Soldier Field
Most Points by Bears in a Game: 42 points, Bears won42-17 on 12/21/75 at Louisiana Superdome.
Most Combined Points (Both Teams): 66 points, Saints won 42-24 on 10/2/77 at Soldier Field
Fewest Points by Saints in a Game: Three points (two times), Bears won 22-3 on 9/14/80 at Soldier Field and 24-3 on 12/20/70 at Tulane Stadium.
Fewest Points by Bears in a Game: Zero points. Saints won 10-0 on 9/19/82 at Soldier Field.
Fewest Combined Points (Both Teams): 10 points, Saints won 10-0 on 9/19/82 at Soldier Field.
