Chicago Bears Early Look Week 15: New Orleans Saints
Dec 7, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Overview: The New Orleans Saints will be coming to town this week for a Monday Night Football matchup that has less appeal than most. At the beginning of the year I had this matchup tabbed as an exciting game that had playoff indications written all over it. What a difference 14 weeks worth of football makes. I guess that’s why they say hindsight is 20/20. Both of these teams are down on their luck with identical records of 5-8, but that’s about where the similarities end. The Bears might not have anything to play for other than pride in this one, but the Saints definitely do. While the Chicago Bears have been officially eliminated from playoff contention following their Thursday night loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week, the New Orleans Saints are still miraculously tied for the division lead in the woeful NFC South. I can’t believe that one of those teams will actually host a playoff game this post season.
Injuries: The New Orleans Saints have a few players on I.R. currently, including two starting safeties and first round draft pick Brandin Cooks, but the real story here rests in the players they lost this week against the Carolina Panthers. On the offensive line, they lost both starting left tackle Terron Armstead to a neck injury and starting center Jonathan Goodwin to a knee injury. Neither has been ruled out at this point, but the Bears’ defensive line has to be licking their chops. On the other side of the ball, both linebacker Junior Galette and cornerback Keenan Lewis left the game with leg injuries. Galette’s injury appears to be the more serious of the two, but Keenan Lewis has been slowed by injury for a large part of the season so an aggravation of that injury is a definite possibility. Losing Lewis for this contest would be a crushing blow to the New Orleans Saints, since he has been by far and away their best corner this season.
Key Matchups: You might call me crazy, but I actually think the Bears match up pretty well personnel-wise in this one. Chicago’s defense has gotten a lot of flak this year, but Demarco Murray was actually the first player to rush for over 100 yards on them all season so I don’t expect huge problems containing the New Orleans Saints rushing attack. In the passing game, Drew Brees and Marques Colston are big names, but they’ve struggled to push the ball deep all season and I think the Bears corners stack up well against the opposing wide receivers for the first time in weeks. Offensively, I wouldn’t be surprised at all by big games from Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett, especially if Keenan Lewis doesn’t play. I also expect Matt Forte to be his usual self and rack up yardage on the ground and through the air. Of course, that all depends on how Jay Cutler plays and whether or not the offensive line can give him time, which are both big ifs.
The Way I See It: Much to my chagrin, I think the Bears have a decent shot in this one. Nothing would please me more at this point than Chicago turning this debacle of a season into a high draft pick come May, but I have a feeling they’ll screw it up and finish 7-9, picking right in the middle of the pack. It would be a classic Bears ending. They can’t even lose right. I do hope they can keep it close to help build some confidence for next year, but I just hope the New Orleans Saints can eek it out in the end.
What do you guys think? Do the Bears have a shot in this one? Is a high draft pick worth sitting through three more losses? Let me know in the Comments…