Chicago Bears Gameday: 3 Keys to Victory over the New Orleans Saints

The Chicago Bears as a team need to be more disciplined

If the Chicago Bears have proven anything so far it's that their margin for victory is razor-thin, and even if they play a complete game on both offense and defense, simple mistakes can derail their path to victory. Including special teams play and turnovers, the Bears have struggled in key situations throughout eight games, but recently, their lack of discipline has reared its head through penalties.

With an average of 6.5 fouls per game, the Bears are in the bottom half of the league in terms of penalties, a mark that they have to improve in order to find success. Unfortunately, in recent weeks that average has begun to increase, highlighted by seven penalties in each of their last three games. Fortunately, and somewhat randomly, the Bears are called for roughly two fewer penalties per game when on the road, as they will be versus the Saints.

On either side of the ball, a penalty can kill the chances of having a successful drive, especially for longer fouls such as pass interference or holding. For the Bears to play in front of the chains and control the tempo of the game, limiting penalties and hidden negative yardage will be key. Between players stepping up due to injuries and perpetual turnover amongst the coaching staff, there is already a fair amount of adversity this Bears team has to face week in and week out, and making their own lives easier by preventing simple penalties would go a long way to pave the path to a victory.