Dhruv Koul shares his in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the Saints-Bears game at Soldier Field. Follow him on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
CHICAGO -- After a rough loss in London to the Oakland Raiders and an undoubtedly long BYE week, the Chicago Bears welcomed the New Orleans Saints to Soldier Field today. The Bears also welcomed back their starting quarterback, as Mitch Trubisky returned from a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the Minnesota game three weeks ago.
Both teams had opposite narratives entering today. The Saints, 5-1 coming in, had ridden outstanding coaching, a fierce pass rush and an excellent secondary to navigate without Drew Brees. The Bears, entering at 3-2, had the bad loss to the Raiders and an offense that was still without an identity.
Here was my pre-game Twitter Thoughts thread:
The Saints came in without Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook, two of their best offensive weapons as well. The Bears absolutely had to win today, not just to keep themselves in the thick of the NFC playoff picture, but to assert that last week was an aberration, and that they could beat a team they *should* beat at home.
In the end, the Bears did absolutely nothing right in the entire game. The offense was a mess, the defense had no answers, and the special teams got outworked for the most part to deliver an absolutely awful, horrific, and embarrassing home loss to New Orleans.
I shared my in-game reactions, thoughts and observations from the game below. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Thoughts and Observations
1. (Pre-game) Like I said above, the Bears cannot afford to, nor do they have an excuse to, lose this game. They're at home and facing an opponent without three of their best offensive weapons (Brees, Kamara and Cook). The Saints have a very good defense, but the Bears need to find a way to attack the middle of the field -- that's on Matt Nagy and Trubisky to find a way. If they can do that, they can move the ball. Field position will be important -- it's critical that Pat O'Donnell and the Bears' return teams are on top of their games.
2. This has been about as disastrous a start to a must-win game at home as the Bears could've imagined. After a bad three-and-out to start the game, the Saints blocked Pat O'Donnell's punt. Luckily, he batted it through the end zone for just a safety to put Chicago down 2-0. After an ensuing New Orleans punt, Trubisky missed a wide open Taylor Gabriel on third down by a MILE, requiring another punt. Just a brutal, brutal start, without any sort of hope it'll get better for Trubisky.
3. Well, that was some sequence. Anthony Miller fumbled just outside the Bears' red zone in a desperation attempt to get the running game going on a jet sweep. A few plays later, Teddy Bridgewater and Josh Hill put the Saints up 9-0. Ensuing kickoff? Cordarrelle Patterson a kickoff return for a touchdown -- 9-7.
Weird thing was I was just about to yell at CP for taking it out; but I'm glad he did. I was also expecting all sorts of flags because there are always flags; but I'm glad there weren't. The Bears needed the return team(s) to step up today to support Trubisky and the offense -- they've already contributed. That's huge. Let's hope the Bears can build on this going forward.
4. On the Bears' ensuing possession, there was some good and some bad. It's clear that the Saints are squatting on the horizontal stuff (like so many teams have done). They were very close to jumping a route on one converted third down.
Almost right after I tweeted this, Trubisky started taking some shots downfield -- he almost connected with Allen Robinson on an excellent throw the very next play, but he just couldn't get the second foot down. The Bears drove to the Saints' 25 yard line, before Trubisky took an awful, eight-yard sack that came on a bad idea to pull the ball back on an RPO. Luckily, Eddy Pineiro drilled the 46 yard attempt to give the Bears their first lead of the game. They're up 10-9.
5. An absolutely horrid spot on third and short by the officials gave the Saints a first down. And then the Bears challenged -- and while video evidence showed CLEARLY that the ball was short, Al Riveron let it stand. The Saints got a field goal out of it to take a 12-10 lead.
Trubisky then overthrew a wide open Anthony Miller on third down to punt. And the Bears got another punt tipped to give New Orleans excellent field position. This is a brutal, brutal football game.
6. The Bears' defense is not only giving Saints' receivers a cushion, they've giving them an enormous amount of room. Michael Thomas, whom the Bears should be double teaming every play with Kamara and Cook out, is roaming free down field repeatedly. It's crazy.
The Bears really escaped points there as Ted Ginn Jr. dropped a touchdown in the end zone and then Wil Lutz missed a field goal wide right. The Bears then proceeded to go three and out again, with some awful play calls on third and short. It was horrendous. I'm not sure the Bears shouldn't bench Trubisky for the second half.
7. Actually, I'm damn sure of it. Bench Trubisky to start the second half. The awareness, ability, and mechanics just aren't manifesting. Win this game.
The problem is they won't, because that signals a monumental direction change going forward. Trubisky would never recover from that and Nagy could never take that back. But Nagy's job is to win games. It's a move he should make, but won't.
8. The Saints scored a touchdown in six plays to open the second half, highlighted by a busted coverage. It was the most feeble opener to the second half on defense you could've cooked up in your mind. On the ensuing offensive possession, the Bears ran the ball with David Montgomery and he lost the ball on a fumble. The Bears are absolutely getting worked every which way, and getting embarrassed by Sean Payton's squad at home.
Luckily:
9. Another three and out. I am not a broken record. I promise. There is still no identity, no positivity, no hope.
10. Sean Payton and Dennis Allen have coached circles around Matt Nagy and Chuck Pagano today. It's been an absolute clinic. I am amazed with how well they have attacked the defense on all fronts. Payton deserves Coach of the Year with everything he has done to this point.
Saints score a touchdown on a brilliantly executed drive and they're up 26-10. This is a flaming disaster.
11. Three-and-out. Again! A play after Trubisky lofts an underthrown deep ball into triple coverage that should've been picked off easily, he throws it to nobody on an all-out blitz on third down. Saints set up at midfield after the punt. There is still an entire quarter left of this nonsense.
12. The Bears have officially lost their first game by more than a score in the Matt Nagy era. It's 36-10 with six minutes left. It was 12-10 at halftime. Just amazing.
13. This is a devastating blow to the Bears' playoff chances, and I know it's early. With the Green Bay Packers in good position in the NFC North, the Bears couldn't afford to fall to 3-3 with so many teams in the hunt: Saints, Panthers, Rams, 49ers, Seahawks, Vikings, and Lions. Brutal.
14. Then again, I'm not sure it really matters. The Bears have an identity crisis -- they can't do anything well on offense, and their defense just got smoked by a Saints' team without Alvin Kamara and Jared Cook. A 3-3 record, and we have no idea where the year will go from here.
15. The Bears host the Los Angeles Chargers next week at home. After an atrocious showing on both offense and (in some cases) defense today, who trusts they can fix anything against the Chargers? The defense breaks next week trying to support the offense, whose weight is just too much to carry at this point.
Early prediction: Chargers 27, Bears 6.
