It wasn’t easy for the New Orleans Saints in Chicago.
The Saints defeated the Bears 26-23 on the road in overtime and improved to 5-2 on the season.
How It Happened:
It was another slow start for the Saints defense as they gave up big plays to the Bears in the first half.
New Orleans drove the ball down the field on their opening possession and finished it off with a 38-yard field goal by Wil Lutz.
Chicago responded with a field goal of their own. The Bears possessed the ball for seven minutes on their first possession of the game. Chicago kicker Cairo Santos tied the game at 3-3 with a 44-yard field goal with 1:17 left in the first quarter.
The Saints next drive ended in a missed 27-yard field goal by Lutz. That was Lutz’s first field goal miss of the season.
It only took the Bears four plays on the following drive to take a 10-3 lead and record the first touchdown of the game. Chicago quarterback Nick Foles completed a 50-yard pass to Darnell Mooney and then threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson.
The game saw three straight possessions end in punts until Chicago added to their lead. Santos kicked a 29-yard field goal for a 13-3 lead with 1:39 left in the half.
The Saints were able to score their first touchdown of the game with a 16-yard pass from Drew Brees to tight end Jared Cook.
New Orleans trailed 13-10 entering the second half.
The Saints took advantage of a couple of good punt returns by Deonte Harris and a turnover in the third quarter to enter the final quarter up 16-13.
Harris returned the punt to the Bears 16-yard line, which led to a 27-yard field goal by Lutz to tied the game.
Marshon Lattimore came away with an interception to set up another field goal for Lutz. This time the kick was from 39 yards out. The Saints led 16-13 with 5:08 remaining in the third.
Chicago punted again on the following possession and Harris returned the ball to midfield. The Saints could not convert on 4th-and-1 and Chicago regained possession entering the fourth quarter.
The Bears opened the fourth with a turnover on downs and New Orleans started their first drive of the quarter at the Saints 36-yard line.
Brees proceeded to throw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Taysom Hill for a 23-13 lead with 9:57 remaining in the game.
New Orleans recorded 20 unanswered points after trailing 13-3, but Chicago finally scored again with a touchdown pass from Foles to Mooney.
The Saints still led 23-20 with 3:32 remaining. New Orleans gave the ball back to Chicago with 1:51 left in the game after a 3-and-out.
The Bears drove down to the 33-yard line and Santos kicked the game-tying, 51-yard field goal to send the game to overtime tied at 23.
New Orleans received the ball first in the overtime period, but could not score on the drive. Chicago sustained a three-minute drive but punted the ball back to New Orleans and never saw it again.
Alvin Kamara set up a 35-yard field goal attempt with a 20-yard run. Lutz nailed the game-winning kick for the Saints fifth win of the year.
Big Number: 163
Alvin Kamara continued to shine on the offensive end for the Saints with 163 total yards. New Orleans were without wide receivers. Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders and Marquez Callaway. Kamara led the Saints with nine receptions for 96 yards while also leading the team with 12 carries and 67 rushing yards.
Player of the Game: Wil Lutz
Lutz missed his first field goal of the season in the win but went 4-of-5 on field goals, including the game winner in overtime.
Next Up: On the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday Nov. 8; Kickoff scheduled for 7:20 p.m.