NFL: 5 takeaways from the New Orleans Saints' Week 8 win over the Chicago Bears

Modified Nov 08, 2022 11:48 GMT

Viewers were treated to an absolute nail-biter at the iconic Soldier Field, where the New Orleans Saints edged out the Chicago Bears, 26-23, in overtime Week 8 thriller.

In a contest that was tough-going for both offenses, New Orleans Saints' star Alvin Kamara's contribution (67 yards rushing, 96 yards receiving) proved pivotal, as Sean Payton's injury-hit side escaped Chicago with a crucial W.

In a tense and topsy-turvy affair, the two teams could only exchange field goals in the first quarter.

Bears receiver Allen Robinson II dove into the back of the end zone to catch a beautifully lofted pass from quarterback, Nick Foles during the 2nd quarter, handing the Bears the advantage.

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The Saints hit back quickly, though, when during a rare moment of Bears' defensive indiscipline, Drew Brees picked out his wide-open tight end Jared Cook for an easy touchdown.

After an interception by Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore set up a Taysom Hill touchdown catch from Brees, the Saints were seemingly in control.

The Bears' offense had been woeful for most of the second half. Yards on the ground were hard to come by, there was indiscipline (more on that later), and the offensive line struggled to protect Foles. It looked like the game was slipping away from Chicago, but, led by 2018 Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, the Bears flipped momentum on its head and clawed their way back into the contest.

Darnell Mooney caught a short touchdown, and minutes later, Cairo Santos successfully converted a 35-yard field goal attempt, taking the game to overtime.

Overtime itself played out exactly like the rest of the game.

The Saints won the coin toss, then had to punt the ball away after some great defensive work from Khalil Mack and Co., gifting the Bears' offense the chance to win the game. They just had to make it 40 yards upfield to put Santos in position for another field goal.

Despite home field advantage and having momentum on their side, once again, the Chicago offense couldn't get the job done. They ended up punting the ball back to the Saints.

Will Lutz converted a field goal for the visitors, and that was the game.

The Saints (5-2) have now won four in a row heading into next week's crucial NFC South encounter against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-2)

The Bears (5-3) are still doing well in the NFC North but will need a much-improved performance both on the ground and through the air if they hope to match division leaders' the Green Bay Packers (5-3) during the run-in.

Let's take a look at the five biggest takeaways from Sunday's game.

5. Sean Payton is still one of the NFL's elite coaches

Can we all just take a moment to admire Sean Payton's offensive playcalling, which has been excellent these past few weeks?

Without his preferred receivers Michael Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, the New Orleans Saints' head coach has utilized all of his experience to keep the offense ticking. There's been an array of screens, trick plays with Taysom Hill, Kamara catching slants out the backfield, offensive line running college ball-esque blocking schemes ... it's truly been a tour de' force of Payton's playbook and he deserves credit for the creativity he's shown whilst grinding out this recent stretch of W's with his Saints.

4. Bears WR Javon Wims sparks bizarre third-quarter brawl

Inefficient, the Chicago Bears' offense suffered a complete meltdown during the third quarter versus the Saints, giving away several penalties on route to this crescendo of stupidity from wideout Javon Wims.

Wims took offense to New Orleans Saints' Chauncey Gardener-Johnson swiping at his mouthpiece and retaliated by twice punching the Saints' safety in the helmet.

He was of course ejected from the game, weakening an already rudderless Bears offense, and he can expect to face some disciplinary action from the NFL over the coming days for his actions.

3. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara continues his hot streak

Seeing as you can't so much as contemplate flicking over to "NFL Total Access" without hearing someone singing Alvin Kamara's praises, I'll keep this one short.

Fully healed up and fresh from penning a brand-new $75 million, 5-year contract during the twilight stages of the offseason, the New Orleans Saints' back is now in the midst of a career year.

Following the game with the Bears, he's now rushed for 431 yards and four touchdowns (5.0 yards per carry), made 556 yards worth of receptions, with three touchdowns to boot, and is quite simply the most productive offensive weapon in the entire NFL.

Kamara will be hoping to maintain the hot streak heading into the New Orleans Saints' Week 9 test against the Buccaneers.

2. The New Orleans Saints' secondary still an area of concern

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On paper, Marshon Lattimore, Malcolm Jenkins, and Janoris Jenkins should be one the better sets of defensive backs in the league, yet the New Orleans Saints rank a very average 17th in the NFL when it comes to stopping the pass, conceding 328 yards per game on average ... and they always seem to give up big plays on crucial downs, stretching right back to the 2019 campaign.

It can take time for partnerships to blossom, but New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had better be hoping his pass coverage unit gets it together sooner rather than later, what with stern tests against the likes of Brady's Buccaneers and Mahomes' Chiefs on the horizon.

1. Bears' struggles on the ground continue

Credit where it's due, the New Orleans Saints' defensive line and edge rushers did do a great job of stopping the Bears on the ground, keeping them to just 96 yards.

The problem for Bears' head coach Matt Nagy is that this was yet another game in which opposing defenses have stopped Chicago's rushing attack. The coaching stuff has to figure something out.

David Montgomery (21 carries. 89 yards), to his credit, has been hitting the turf hard and certainly looks to be a real NFL player, but he's yet to make it over 100 yards in a single game this season and is all too often wrapped up behind the line of scrimmage, long before he's able to pick up any steam.

Either the Bears' offensive line isn't doing its job, or Matt Nagy needs to get a few pointers from Sean Payton's playbook.