Chicago Bears: How to shock the Saints in Wild Card game

The Chicago Bears need to do one thing to shock the Saints on Wild Card Sunday.

The Chicago Bears made the playoffs to the surprise of many. It wouldn’t have been a surprise when they started 5-1 but they went on to lose six in a row following that. It was tough but they won three of their last four to sneak in as the seventh seed at 8-8. They are lucky that the league expanded the playoffs during the COVID-19 season but they are in.

The New Orleans Saints are the opponent that drew the Bears as they go into the dance as the second seed. Saints fans probably aren’t as confident as they should be as their team has had a few recent playoffs collapses. In 2019 esspecially, the Saints lost in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings who were big underdogs. It does feel a little bit different this year but it is still proof that the game has to be played on the field.

One of the turning points of the season for the Bears was their game in week eight matchup against the Saints. They were 5-2 and the Saints were 4-2. There was a clear even playing field going into the game but the Saints won the game by a final score of 26-23. They lost by a Field Goal to a team with a very similar record. If they manage to win this game by snagging one more touchdown or a field goal to tie it and give themselves a chance, the whole season could have gone differently.

Drew Brees isn’t what he once was but he can still use his brain to win football games. He has shown, however, that the Bears defense is capable of beating him. They aren’t going to have Roquan Smith which is an issue but they need guys like Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Eddie Jackson, and Kyle Fuller amongst others to step up.

They can’t win this game if they let Brees roll in and do better than he did in week eight when he went 31/41 for 280 years, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. It isn’t a magnificent game in terms of yards but it shows that he can just win. Alvin Kamara is going to play in the game following a COVID-19 diagnosis because the game is on Sunday instead of saturday. This is one of the best running backs in the NFL so he has to be a part of the game plan as well.

As for the Bears offense, it will look completely different from what we saw in the week eight matchup. Nick Foles went 28/41 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It isn’t fair to say that Mitchell Trubisky will do any better but at least he is a different style of player. The Saints haven’t played against him this year. The Bears can take what worked and what didn’t from the previous matchup and learn from it.

In addition to Roquan Smith being out, Darnell Mooney is going to miss the game as well with an injury. It is tough because those two have been so good for Chicago in 2020 and will be big parts of the future. It does, however, make it harder to win this particular game. There isn’t any reason to feel completely hopeless.

There is a good chance that New Orleans wins because they are the better team but stranger things have happened in the history of the NFL. The key is everything falling into place as mentioned before. The defense needs to step up to control that New Orleans offense that they have already faced and the Bears offense needs to step it up with Trubisky this time. Learning from that week eight matchup needs to be the biggest thing.