The Chicago Bears will head to New Orleans to take on the Saints. After falling to 2-6, it is hard to find reasons to get excited this year, but there are plenty of players to watch to see them develop for the future or find out if they are worth keeping into the future. The Saints are a fun team because they have enough star talent in the right spots to push the Bears and give fans something to watch on Sunday.
6. Cameron Jordan will bring the Chicago Bears rookie a different test
When the Chicago Bears take on the Saints, it will be yet another massive test for the rookie Darnell Wright. He has had ups and downs like any rookie offensive tackle would in the NFL, but overall signs are encouraging, especially when you consider who he has stacked up against. The gauntlet does not end this weekend with Cameron Jordan coming to town.
Jordan lines up primarily against the right tackle, and he has been a mainstay in the NFL as a pass rusher for over a decade now. He brings a completely different style as a pass rusher because he is bigger than you will typically see, and he plays with power and violence, while others use speed a lot more. Still, Wright is better against power rushers, so now we will see him against one of the best.
Also, while Wright has taken on names like Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby, Joey Bosa, Rashan Gary, Shaq Barrett, Montez Sweat, and Chris Jones, the New Orleans Saints have not faced the roughest strecth of right tackles. Cameron Jordan has faced backups in Blake Freeland, Chris Hubbard, George Fant, and Vedrian Lowe
He has faced rookie Anton Harrison and unproven tackles Luke Goedeke and Zach Tom. Overall, his toughest opponent was Taylor Moton, someone who he knows very well. Jordan is good, but Wright should be a great test for him, and this will help us see exactly how good Wright can handle big rushers.
5. Jaylon Johnson has a great chance to earn a contract against the New Orleans Saints
Jaylon Johnson wants a new contract, and his play in the last three weeks shows that he is a motivated player ready to earn that. He has more interceptions in the last three games than he did in the first three seasons of his career. Now, he gets another excellent chance to prove himself.
Jaylon Johnson will be lining up against both Michael Thomas and Chris Olave this week. Those two move around on the outside, and Johnson often plays the boundary side of the field, while Tyrique Stevenson usually takes the field side. So, both will see Thomas and Olave.
The Saints will do what most teams do, and that is target Stevenson. In the last three weeks, Stevenson has been targeted 34 times, while Johnson has been targeted 14 times. Still, a clean sheet against the Saints would be huge in his case for a big contract. Also, losing to Chris Olave when he is not having the best year would go the other direction.
4. The Chicago Bears linebackers may not be ready for Alvin Kamara
When the Chicago Bears signed T.J. Edwards, it was mainly valuing his coverage skills. He has been good going downhill and getting after the quarterback, but his biggest weakness has been coverage skills. Overall, the Chicago Bears have been awful against running backs in the passing game.
What stings is that guys like Jaleel McLaughlin and Antonio Gibson get the best of them? As they are losing to them, the big names like Aaron Jones and Austin Ekeler are wrecking the Bears in the passing game.
Aaron Jones had two catches for 86 yards, and Austin Ekeler had seven catches for 94 yards. Did the Chargers spam this so much that the Bears had to do something about it, or is this just something that will plague this team? Does losing Tremaine Edmunds and starting Jack Sanborn make a difference? Did we finally get what we were paying for T.J. Edwards?
3. The Chicago Bears newest addition Montez Sweat gets a heavyweight showdown
Montez Sweat is coming in cold, but the Chicago Bears expect him to suit up and play against the New Orleans Saints. A big introduction for Sweat is coming as he takes on Ryan Ramczyk. Ramczyk is one of the best right tackles in the NFL and has been for a while now. He has been nearly flawless this year as well, with the exception of a couple of losses against Rashan Gary and a duel with Will Anderson that had some wins and losses. Still, it takes someone like Anderson or Gary to get to him.
He had great games against rushers like Kwity Paye, Brian Burns, and Harold Landry. So, Montez Sweat had better bring it. Sweat has already faced Lane Johnson twice this season, and he has gone up against many elite right tackles in his time.
Fans will get to see just how valuable Montez Sweat is right out of the gate. If he can do some work on Ramczyk, it would really help.
2. The New Orleans Saints have a chance to slow down D.J. Moore
D.J. Moore has not had a game quite like that Thursday Night game with the Washington Comanders. To be fair, his quarterback sitaution has changed dramatically in recent weeks. So, he has had 51, 54, and 55 yards in the last three weeks. Now, he gets a big time matchup against Marshon Lattimore.
Lattimore remains one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He does not follow receivers like he used to, so they will only see each other when he is on one side. Still, this year, Moore has lined up on the side that Lattimore defends 50% of the time, and when Moore lines up on the outside, he is on that side 59% of the time. We are going to see a lot of Moore against Lattimore.
This will not be the first time. Moore has played nine games against the Saints, coming from the NFC South. He averages 59 yards per game, and in his last three games, he has five catches for 41 yards combined. Still, in New Orleans, he averaged 64.5 yards per game. Will Moore continue to have decent 50-yard games due to the quarterback play, or can he take this matchup into his own hands?
1. Will the Chicago Bears be able to hit Cole Kmet?
Cole Kmet is the Chicago Bears' second-best pass catcher. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints are one of the best in the NFL when it comes to defending the tight end. They rank third least in catches and yards allowed. So, will the Chicago Bears have any success?
Some of it comes down to the opponents they have played. The Titans, Panthers, Bucs, Patriots, and Colts did not feature tight ends. Dalton Schultz had four catches for 61 yards against New Orleans, Evan Engram had five catches for 45 yards, and Luke Musgrave had six catches for 49 yards. Some, they can be beatable.
Still, the Saints also have a roster that makes them solid against the tight end. Demario Douglas does not seem to age, and neither does Tyrann Mathieu. Combined, they defend the middle of the field and take on tight ends in coverage. So, it will take an impressive performance by Cole Kmet to pick up 50 yards. Is he ready for it, or is he just another decent tight end who cannot perform against the Saints?