New Orleans Saints vs Chicago Bears
New Orleans Saints
Quarterback
- Teddy Bridgewater: 23/38, 281 yards, 2 TD, 1 sack | 4 carries, 7 yards
- Taysom Hill: 2 carries, 21 yards | 2 targets, 1 reception, 4 yards
It’s a good time to be a Saints fan. If I told you Drew Brees would go down in week two and the Saints would lose that game (making them 1-1 at the time), what would you expect their record to be after seven games? What if I also told you they had to face the Seahawks, Jaguars, Cowboys, Buccaneers, and Bears in that span of games? Oh, Alvin Kamara is also going to miss that Bears game. I’d have said they’d be lucky to be 4-3…that would be excellent for them. Well, Teddy Bridgewater has led New Orleans to a 6-1 record. Sure, Bridgewater has hardly been a superstar. He’s been good enough though. He missed some throws (poor Austin Carr twice), but he made some others (see anything thrown Michael Thomas’ way). Teddy is not a QB1, but he’s done more than enough to keep the Saints’ weapons chugging along and he’ll be back to the bench soon.
Running Backs
- Latavius Murray: 27 carries, 119 yards, 2 TD | 6 targets, 5 carries, 31 yards
Running against Chicago’s defense, once upon a time, was a challenge. Then Akiem Hicks got hurt. Since then, Josh Jacobs and now Latavius Murray have had their way with the Bears. Murray wasn’t a game-changer like Alvin Kamara: no one is. However, he did a good job taking what was there and pushing hard into contact. He had multiple 15+ yard runs and never stopped pushing forward. Murray is a great starting option as long as Kamara is out, but should be benched once he’s back.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Michael Thomas: 11 targets, 9 receptions, 131 yards
- Ted Ginn Jr.: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 48 yards
- Josh Hill: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 43 yards, 1 TD
Michael Thomas is a truly impressive wide receiver. I think everyone expected a dropoff once Brees went down, but Thomas hasn’t missed a beat. He’s averaging over 11 targets and almost 9 receptions per game. That is a ridiculous pace. Thomas is an excellent route runner and consistently gets himself open, whatever the coverage. He could be in the conversation as the WR1 next year. He seemingly did what he wanted against Chicago, and a closer score would have likely meant more volume. Still, I’ll always take 9 catches for 131 yards.
Ted Ginn Jr. is great at what he does: he’s fast and knows how to make that occasional big play. When Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara are running at full speed, Ginn becomes that extra weapon to make you think. This week, Ginn made a couple good catches but could have had an even bigger day. He dropped a TD catch thanks to good defense. Still, he could have had it. Ginn isn’t on my radar, but he’s fun to watch do his thing.
Chicago Bears
Quarterback
- Mitch Trubisky: 34/54, 251 yards, 2 TD, 2 sacks
Back in 2017, I was thrilled to see the Bears take a QB early. They were staking their claim to the future, and they were so excited about the move. I was hyped and the doubters couldn’t get me down. I think I’m finally ready to admit I was wrong. This isn’t a sudden realization about Mitch Trubisky, but rather a slow boil that has finally bubbled over the sides of the pot. Sure, the stats look decent. However, Trubisky didn’t throw a TD until there was less than three minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter and the score was already 36-10. Trubisky was incapable of hitting guys down the field, and this made defense easy for New Orleans. They quickly jumped on every short throw, knowing that nothing would endanger them deep. Mitch had Taylor Gabriel open long and missed him. Later, he had Anthony Miller open deep and missed him too. The Bears had only one 20+ yard play on offense today. Trubisky is not even running anymore. I have no interest in starting him save for the deepest of leagues.
Running Backs
- David Montgomery: 2 carries, 6 yards | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards
- Tarik Cohen: 3 carries, 10 yards | 12 targets, 9 receptions, 19 yards
So the running game…something is clearly broken in the Chicago offense right now. To date, they’ve had only one 100-yard rushing game. They’ve only hit 50 rushing yards in half their games. What’s to blame? I think it falls on the passing attack and David Montgomery. With every pass being short, it’s not hard to sell out on stopping short plays. Once the box is loaded up, each run is bound to go nowhere. I’ll add to this that it looks like I over-estimated David Montgomery. To be fair, I’m not alone in that. Fantasy players as a whole were enamored with Montgomery and Josh Jacobs. Montgomery looks like he didn’t belong in that conversation after his first six games. He is good at staying on his feet, but he lacks the explosiveness you hope to see from your offensive weapons. With a bad system to run in, this spells disaster. I have little faith in Montgomery right now, and I can’t recommend starting him…save for a very deep flex play.
Tarik Cohen also hasn’t looked great this year, though I’m more willing to defend him. Cohen has proven how explosive he can be, so I won’t blame this all on him. I frequently see Cohen getting used poorly, being run up the middle into a pile. As my Dad said, you don’t throw a ping pong ball at a line of bowling balls. Cohen saved his day in PPR by putting up an absurd stat line: 9 catches for 19 yards. I hope Coach Matt Nagy will figure this out, but I’m less sure with each passing week. Until further notice, don’t start any Bears RBs except for a desperation flex.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Allen Robinson II: 16 targets, 10 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD
- Anthony Miller: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 64 yards
- Adam Shaheen: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 24 yards
- Cordarelle Patterson: 3 targets, 2 receptions, 21 yards | 1 carry, 2 yards | return TD
- Trey Burton: 4 targets, 2 receptions, 11 yards
If you’ve been following along with me each week, you should know the drill by now. Allen Robinson can be trusted but no one else can. Robinson was involved frequently, as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, and finished with a strong line. Sure, he enjoyed some garbage time as the Bears went on two unnecessary TD drives late (down 28 points). However, he was integral and the receiver Trubisky loves most. Keep rolling with him as a high-end WR2.
Anthony Miller would seem like he’s finally emerging, but his numbers shouldn’t be trusted. Miller saw five targets and three receptions in the last three minutes of the game when the Saints stopped caring. Before that, his highlights were fumbling away his first catch and watching Trubisky overthrow him. Sure, Miller gets open sometimes. I just can’t trust him to both get open and be accurately thrown to right now. There is no need to hold Miller in redraft, but I still like his talent in dynasty leagues. He just might need a QB change.
Cordarelle Patterson is worth mentioning thanks to his special teams play. After New Orleans took a 9-0 lead, Patterson took the kickoff to the house for a 92-yard score. Patterson was impressive running through traffic and making tacklers miss. He’s not on any radar, but it’s still fun to mention
Note: the Bears recorded the first successful onside kick of the season. They scored on that drive and recovered their next onside kick, only to see a penalty wipe it out.
— Mike Miklius