Saints march into Chicago, defeat Bears in overtime
Nick Foles was unable to get the best of Drew Brees in the Week 8 showdown at Soldier Field. (Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports)

Saints march into Chicago, defeat Bears in overtime
by - Senior Writer - Sun Nov 01 22:35:52 GMT-04:00 2020

CHICAGO — Suffering their second straight loss in Week 8, the Chicago Bears (5-3) were unable to pick up a win in their first overtime contest of the season. On a cold, windy Sunday at Soldier Field, the New Orleans Saints (5-2) came away with a 26-23 victory after squandering a 10-point lead late in regulation.

Bears quarterback Nick Foles struggled for most of the second half but was able to rally his squad to a 10-0 turnaround in the final 3:32 of the fourth quarter. The two teams then exchanged punts in overtime before the Saints drove into field goal range, with New Orleans kicker Wil Lutz making a walkoff 35-yarder.

Play-by-Play Summary:

First Half:

Saints, field goal: Playing with a depleted receiving corps, the Saints were missing the services of several key wideouts. Therefore, Drew Brees relied heavily on short passes throughout the game, including the opening drive. Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray both caught passes out of the backfield early on, and Murray broke off a 20-yard carry that set the stage for an eventual 38-yard field goal by Lutz.

Drive: 12 plays, 55 yards, 6:47

Score: Saints 3, Bears 0

Bears, field goal: Unfortunately for the Bears, who were already playing without a starting offensive lineman, starting right tackle Bobby Massie was injured on the team's first drive. He left the game with a knee injury and did not return. An obvious incomplete pass to David Montgomery was inexplicably ruled a fumble, but the ruling was changed upon review. Foles moved the Bears down the field by way of several short passes but was sacked just outside the red zone. Cairo Santos capped off the possession with a 44-yard field goal. On one play of the drive, Mitchell Trubisky relieved Foles and ran for three yards.

Drive: 14 plays, 49 yards, 7:00

Score: Saints 3, Bears 3

Saints, missed field goal: Not long after a penalty on the kickoff pinned the Saints deep, Kamara caught a pass over the middle and found plenty of room to run, scurrying for a gain of 47 yards. He picked up 14 yards on another reception that came shortly thereafter. Taysom Hill used one of his trademark wildcat runs to advance the Saints into the red zone. The drive stalled out, though, and, with the wind howling, Lutz missed a field goal of inside 30 yards for the first time in his career, as his 27-yarder doinked off the right upright. Replays showed that the holder failed to move the laces out of the way of Lutz' oncoming right foot, likely impacting the kick.

Drive: 9 plays, 79 yards, 5:35

Score: Saints 3, Bears 3

Bears, touchdown: Marking the longest completion of the season for the Bears, Darnell Mooney raced behind the coverage and hauled in a 50-yard pass from Foles. Two plays later, Allen Robinson laid out for a diving catch in the end zone. The impressive 24-yard grab marked Robinson's third touchdown reception of the season.

Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards, 2:28

Score: Saints 3, Bears 10

Saints, punt: The Bears' defense forced a quick three-and-out.

Drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, 1:06

Score: Saints 3, Bears 10

Bears, punt: A pass to Cordarrelle Patterson was blown up in the backfield. Two ensuing incompletions resulted in a three-and-out.

Drive: 3 plays, -4 yards, 1:01

Score: Saints 3, Bears 10

Saints, punt: The Saints decided to punt after a short pass on third down brought up fourth-and-1.

Drive: 3 plays, 9 yards, 2:11

Score: Saints 3, Bears 10

Bears, field goal: In the first half, the Saints' rushing defense was unusually shaky, as New Orleans defenders struggled to bring down Montgomery, who broke a multitude of tackles through two quarters of action. A stellar 38-yard rush by Montgomery came on a play that saw starting Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins leave the game for good with a knee injury. Jason Spriggs, who replaced Massie up front for the Bears, was also injured on the drive but was later able to return to the game. Santos knocked a 29-yarder through to increase Chicago's lead.

Drive: 7 plays, 50 yards, 2:13

Score: Saints 3, Bears 13

Saints, touchdown: Khalil Mack was credited with a sack on Brees, who fell to the ground in order to recover the football after he dropped it in the pocket, and a 12-yard completion to Kamara soon followed. The pass to Kamara brought up fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 48-yard line, and the Saints opted to go for it, with Kamara keeping the drive alive via a seven-yard run. Kyle Fuller was flagged for pass interference in the red zone, and Brees followed that up by throwing behind a wide-open Jared Cook on what should have been a touchdown. Brees made up for it by connecting with Cook on the very next play for a 16-yard score with just three seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 1:36

Score: Saints 10, Bears 13

Bears, end of half: Ryan Nall's kickoff return closed out the first half.

Drive: 0 plays, 0 yards, 0:03

Score: Saints 10, Bears 13

Second Half:

Bears, punt: A short return by Patterson on the second half's opening kickoff resulted in the Bears beginning the drive at their own 13. Chicago was able to convert two first downs, but a third-down sack of Foles, which followed a delay of game, forced a punt. The speedy, elusive Deonte Harris returned the punt to the Bears' 16.

Drive: 5 plays, 0 yards, 4:09

Score: Saints 10, Bears 13

Saints, field goal: The Saints were unable to take advantage of the great field position, as they settled for a 27-yarder by Lutz.

Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:32

Score: Saints 13, Bears 13

Bears, interception: A two-play drive that the Bears will try to forget featured an ejection and an interception. With one of the more interesting scenes of the NFL season thus far, Bears wide receiver Javon Wims was ejected after hitting Saints strong safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson twice in the helmet, perhaps in retaliation for Gardner-Johnson taunting the Bears earlier. Mere moments after Wims was disqualified, Foles made a bad pass to former Saint Jimmy Graham and was picked off by Marshon Lattimore.

Drive: 2 plays, -10 yards, 0:45

Score: Saints 13, Bears 13

Saints, field goal: After beginning at the Chicago 39, the Saints went on to kick another field goal. Facing fourth-and-6 from the Bears' 35, the Saints went for it, and Brees connected with Harris on an eight-yard completion. The next fourth down resulted in Lutz coming onto the field for a go-ahead 39-yarder.

Drive: 8 plays, 19 yards, 3:30

Score: Saints 16, Bears 13

Bears, punt: The Bears were unable to respond with a scoring drive of their own. On fourth-and-2, Foles attempted to draw the Saints offside, but it did not work. Following a delay of game, the Bears punted the football away, and Harris returned the punt to midfield.

Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, 2:07

Score: Saints 16, Bears 13

Saints, turnover on downs: Tre'Quan Smith picked up 12 yards on a third-down pass play. That resulted in a fourth-and-1 at the Chicago 41, but the Saints were unable to convert on fourth down this time around. Kamara was stuffed behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two.

Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:30

Score: Saints 16, Bears 13

Bears, turnover on downs: Foles found Anthony Miller for a gain of 16 to move into New Orleans territory. The Bears eventually suffered their own turnover on downs, with a deep pass to Robinson on a fourth-and-5 at the 36 falling incomplete.

Drive: 5 plays, 21 yards, 2:16

Score: Saints 16, Bears 13

Saints, touchdown: Brees began the drive with two completions of 11 and 13 yards to Cook and Kamara, respectively. Smith then fumbled on a three-yard reception but recovered the ball. The drive ended with Brees completing a 20-yard pass to Hill, who hustled into the end zone for his first receiving touchdown of the season. As a result of the touchdown pass, which was the 560th of Brees' career, Brees moved ahead of Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady for the all-time passing touchdowns record. Brady will have a chance to retake the lead in his "Monday Night Football" outing.

Drive: 7 plays, 64 yards, 4:14

Score: Saints 23, Bears 13

Bears, touchdown: Under intense pressure, Foles came alive after failing to string together consistently good quarterback play for the entire second half up to that point. Montgomery caught a few short passes to get the drive going, and Robinson then tallied a 28-yard reception that set the Bears up just outside the red zone. Graham caught an 11-yard pass and, on third-and-12, drew pass interference in the end zone. A pair of unsuccessful runs by Montgomery led to Foles throwing a three-yard touchdown pass to Mooney on third-and-goal. Foles was forced to switch helmets late in the drive because the radio in his original helmet malfunctioned.

Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:25

Score: Saints 23, Bears 20

Saints, punt: The Bears' defense did its job by forcing a punt, which immediately followed the two-minute warning.

Drive: 3 plays, 3 yards, 1:41

Score: Saints 23, Bears 20

Bears, field goal: Back-to-back perfectly placed passes by Foles were dropped, bringing up fourth-and-8 at the Bears' 34. Foles connected with Miller for a pickup of 11, keeping Chicago alive. Not long after that, the Bears faced another fourth down, this time from the Saints' 47. Robinson took advantage of his defender falling down and moved the chains with a seven-yard grab on fourth-and-2. Foles was sacked by Cameron Jordan for a loss of eight, moving the Bears out of field goal range. However, Miller made a toe-dragging catch at the sideline for a gain of 15 on third-and-18. The reception was long enough to bring Santos onto the field for a 51-yard field goal with 18 seconds remaining. He nailed his first attempt but was iced by Saints Head Coach Sean Payton beforehand, resulting in another try. He drilled his subsequent attempt, too, evening the score at 23 points apiece via the clutch kick.

Drive: 12 plays, 35 yards, 1:38

Score: Saints 23, Bears 23

Saints, end of half: The Saints opted against trying to get into field goal range after taking over at their own 35. Instead, Brees kneeled, ushering in overtime.

Drive: 1 plays, -1 yard, 0:13

Score: Saints 23, Bears 23

Overtime:

Saints, punt: The Saints won the coin toss and received the first possession of the extra period. Brees worked quickly and proficiently to move his team near midfield. An 11-yard rush by Kamara, which saw Kamara recover his own fumble at the end, featured an offensive holding call that stopped the Saints from marching down the field. Hill caught a pass from Brees on third down, but the 10-yard reception was not long enough to move the chains.

Drive: 7 plays, 25 yards, 3:08

Score: Saints 23, Bears 23

Bears, punt: Following the Saints' punt, the Bears began their lone overtime drive at the Chicago 19. After Foles was sacked on second down, he came through with a clutch pass to Robinson, who made a great catch. The 17-yard reception resulted in a first down, but defensive holding being called on the other side of the field would have moved the chains, anyway. On the next third-down play, Foles was not so fortunate. He had room to run but tried to find an open target after scrambling toward the line of scrimmage. Foles was sacked, and a punt followed.

Drive: 6 plays, 8 yards, 3:04

Score: Saints 23, Bears 23

Saints, field goal: The Saints took the field at their own 32, and a 10-yard run by Hill on the second play of the possession advanced New Orleans toward midfield. While facing pressure from the Bears' pass rush, Brees was able to complete a 14-yard pass to a wide-open Smith. A few plays out of the two-minute warning, Buster Skrine was flagged for illegal contact while covering Harris. The automatic first down led to a pivotal 20-yard carry by Kamara. Instead of choosing to eat up clock, Payton opted to go ahead and send Lutz out for the potential game-winning field goal, thereby risking the Bears taking over with enough time to drive into field goal range themselves. Confusion by the Saints resulted in a delay of game, which proved inconsequential, as Lutz made the 35-yarder with ease after being iced by Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy. The field goal provided the Saints with a walkoff win at the 1:36 mark of the overtime period and left the Bears heartbroken in defeat.

Drive: 7 plays, 52 yards, 2:12

Final Score: Saints 26, Bears 23

Statistical Breakdown:

Chicago Bears: 1st Downs: 18; Total Plays: 69; Total Yards: 329; Total Drives: 12; Yards per Play: 4.8; Passing Yards: 233; Rushing Yards: 96; Red Zone: 1-2; Penalties: 7-53; Turnovers: 1; Defensive/Special Teams TDs: 0; Time of Possession: 33:09

New Orleans Saints: 1st Downs: 23; Total Plays: 72; Total Yards: 394; Total Drives: 13; Yards per Play: 5.5; Passing Yards: 272; Rushing Yards: 122; Red Zone: 1-4; Penalties: 5-45; Turnovers: 0; Defensive/Special Teams TDs: 0; Time of Possession: 35:15

"Bear Down" Team MVPs:

Passing: Nick Foles (QB): 28/41, 272 YDS, 6.6 AVG, 2 TD, 1 INT, 5-39 SACK, 92.7 RTG

Rushing: David Montgomery (RB): 21 CAR, 89 YDS, 4.2 AVG, 0 TD, 38 LONG

Receiving: Allen Robinson (WR): 6 REC, 87 YDS, 14.5 AVG, 1 TD, 28 LONG, 7 TGTS

Defense: Roquan Smith (LB): 11 TOT, 9 SOLO, 0 SACKS, 2 TFL, 1 PD, 0 QB HITS, 0 TD

Special Teams: Cairo Santos (PK): 3/3 FG, 100.0 PCT, 51 LONG, 2/2 XP, 11 PTS

Up Next: The Bears will head to Nashville, Tenn., for a Week 9 matchup with the Tennessee Titans (5-2), who have also lost two in a row. Set to kick off at noon CST on Sunday, Nov. 8, the contest at Nissan Stadium is expected to be played in warm, sunny conditions. The all-time Bears-Titans series is currently tied 6-6, but the Titans won 27-21 when the two last met in 2016.

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