The Chicago Bears defense appears hell-bent on getting a measure of their respect back after the Oakland Raiders humbled them in London two weeks ago. Showing out against a great team like the New Orleans Saints makes for the perfect opportunity. Not only that, but they will have a few advantages in their favor. Drew Brees is already out with a thumb injury that underwent surgery a few weeks back. Now the bad news hit critical levels for New Orleans due to a recent announcement.
Despite still being two days away from game time, the team has already declared that both star running back Alvin Kamara and starting tight end Jared Cook will not play. It's a real gut punch for the Saints. Those two players have accounted for almost 38% of the offense's total production through the first six games. Being able to overcome that sort of loss with a backup quarterback on the road against a really good defense? That's asking a lot of head coach Sean Payton.
Nothing is impossible. The Bears won't have Akiem Hicks who is on injured reserve with an elbow injury. So they're not a full strength either. Still, they have enough talent left to still play at a high level. Provided they don't come out flat like they did against Oakland and can contain star Saints receiver Michael Thomas, this is a game they should be able to control.
Chicago Bears defense can't win it alone
Make no mistake. The defense should have a pretty good game against the Saints, but they won't win the game by themselves. This has to be the week where the Bears offense starts to pull more of their weight. They currently rank 28th in scoring and 30th in total yards. That is nowhere near good enough to make the playoffs in the NFC. Never mind making a run at the Super Bowl as so many had hoped. The best way to seize control of this game and not let the Saints hang around is with the offense setting the tone early.
For all the good things head coach Matt Nagy has done for this team, he does have a bad habit of letting teams he should beat get the better of his Bears. It was true last year with the Dolphins and Giants and it was true again with the Raiders in London. This Saints team may be 5-1, but they won't be anywhere close to their best on Sunday. The Bears should have Mitch Trubisky back and they've had two weeks to prepare for this game. There are no excuses.
