The Chicago Bears (3-4) travel down South to New Orleans, LA to take on the Saints (4-2) in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday at Noon. This is an interesting and exciting game for both teams, given that the Bears have won two in a row while the Saints have won four in a row. Both squads are making believers out of their fans who were most likely non-believers entering the 2017 season. How will this one play out?
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Bears offense vs Saints defense
According to the NFL yardage stats, the Bears offense is 30th in total offense, 31st in passing, 7th in rushing, and 26th in points per game. Aikman’s Efficiency Ratings (AER) has the Bears rated at the 29th best offense.
The Saints defense is 23rd in total defense, 21st in passing, 20th in rushing, and 16th in scoring defense. AER has the Saints defense rated as the 15th best defense in the NFL, surprising because all of their yardage and scoring rankings are lower than 15th.
Overall, the Bears offense is mostly miserable. Meanwhile, the Saints defense is average at best. Nonetheless, in the loud Dome on Sunday…….. EDGE: SAINTS
Bears defense vs Saints offense
Bears defense is 7th overall in the NFL yardage rankings, 9th against the pass, 11th against the run, and 14th in points allowed. AER has Chicago’s D at 12th.
Saints offense is 4th overall, 4th in passing, 10th in rushing, and 4th in scoring. AER has the Saints as the 5th rated offense.
New Orleans has a fantastic offense led by #9 Drew Brees. Even though the Bears defense has been dominant as of late, their lower rankings in these categories are because of the first 3 games against really hard competition. Thus, this matchup is somewhat even. Once again, on Sunday in the Dome, I must give the edge to the home team. SLIGHT EDGE: SAINTS
Watch Out For……….
QB #10 Mitch Trubisky – After completing only 4 of 7 passes last week, all eyes will be on Trubisky this week to see if he can produce yards and points. It’s obvious he will need to produce more than last week because there is no way the Bears defense will score twice on defense again. Also, there is little reason to believe the Saints shall falter on offense as Cam and the Panthers did last week. New Orleans will definitely put up some points at home. So that means the Bears will need to actually try to score this week, unlike last in which they only had to avoid self-destruction. Who can blame HC John Fox and OC Dowell Loggains for last week’s performance? They had a 17-3 lead and played conservative to win the game. You’ll get no complaints from the “Dutch Lion” on that strategy. However, moving forward the Bears will most likely need to open it up. This falls on the shoulders of the new rookie starting QB Trubisky. Let’s see what he can do!
Predictions:
The Bears have been playing some really good football the last few weeks, especially on defense. Well, let’s just say, AT LEAST ONLY on defense. The offense…..not so much. However, they haven’t really needed to express themselves on offense, especially in last week’s demolition over Carolina. This week, the New Orleans Saints led by superstar QB Drew Brees will most definitely put up some points. They’re averaging 28.5 ppg. Can the Bears hold them under that number? Possibly. Can the Bears hold them to 3 points as they did Carolina last week? Highly unlikely.
Meanwhile, the Bears have virtually no Wide Receivers (worst unit in the NFL, although they did just add WR #17 Dontrelle Inman, a 6’3″ veteran from San Diego in a conditional trade). Will he play this week? Again, highly unlikely but I guess there’s a chance……(Hey 17, run the 9 route! That means, “Go deep”). Will his jersey even have his name on it? (Hey Martha, can you get me a #17 jersey and throw an “I-N-M-A-N” on the nameplate? Thanks Martha! (a tireless Bears worker at Halas Hall for the last 3 decades)
So who will Trubisky throw the ball to? Will the coaching staff let him throw? Once Brees puts up a couple or three TD passes, you can bet Trubisky will be launching some passes downfield. If not, the Bears will get blown out.
Overall, I love what Chicago is doing but this is likely one of the hardest games left on the schedule. I see New Orleans defending their home-dome advantage and winning the ball game. The point spread, as of Thursday’s Chicago Tribune, is New Orleans favored by 9 points. I’ll take the Saints by 10.
New Orleans Saints 24 Chicago Bears 14
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