CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bears have a chance to match their best winning streak in seven seasons and improve to 4-2 after losing their first two games when they host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
As good as all that sounds, no one needs to remind quarterback Caleb Williams. He saw firsthand how quickly things can fall apart as a rookie last season.
“We were 4-2 last year at a certain point and obviously the season turned around," Williams said. “So being able to understand that, now that I’ve been through a full season, been in those moments, I think being able to move on past wins and losses and understand that it’s a long season, being able to move on from an emotional game, being able to move on from myself playing in my hometown (at Washington last week) and the game going down to the wire, all of that is important.”
The next one is against against a team with an NFC-worst 1-5 record. The Saints are coming off a 25-19 loss to New England after beating the New York Giants a week earlier for their first win under coach Kellen Moore.
The Bears (3-2), meanwhile, have a chance to win four straight for the first time since the 2018 NFC North champions took the final four regular-season games. They opened their first season under coach Ben Johnson by blowing an 11-point lead against Minnesota and getting pounded at Detroit before beating Dallas by 17.
Chicago then squeezed out a 25-24 victory at Las Vegas and, coming out of a bye, prevailed at Washington by the same score. Thanks to a last-second field goal by backup kicker Jake Moody, the Bears also got some payback for the “Fail Mary” loss to the Commanders in the same stadium last season that kicked off a 10-game losing streak following a 4-2 start.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will be facing New Orleans for the first time since the Saints fired him as head coach last year after 2 1/2 seasons.
Allen led the Saints to an 18-25 record without a playoff appearance after taking over for Sean Payton in 2022. He was fired after Week 9 last season, with the Saints 2-7 after losing seven in a row.
Allen spent six seasons as New Orleans' defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach. He took over when Payton went into what turned out to be a one-year retirement before taking the Denver job.
The Bears' defense under Allen has so far been a mixed bag. Chicago ranks among the NFL's worst in yards per game and in stopping the run, but is one of the best at forcing turnovers. The Bears are tied with Jacksonville for the NFL lead with a plus-8 differential and rank second with 12 takeaways, including 11 in the past three games.
The Saints rank 29th in the NFL in red zone efficiency, converting just 44.1% of possessions inside an opponent’s 20-yard line into touchdowns.
In a 25-19 loss to New England last week, the Saints converted one of two red zone opportunities. They also settled for four field goals, one after driving inside the Patriots 20 and the others from somewhat farther out.
“We’re really good within the 20s, it feels like, and then we get down and kind of stall out with whatever it is, with penalties, you name it,” quarterback Spencer Rattler said.
Some of Hall of Famer Troy Aikman's comments during the “Monday Night Football” telecast apparently didn't sit too well with the Bears. And Williams said they've given the team a little more “fuel.”
“When people have stuff to say about you, whether it’s that week or a whole year or whatever the case may be, I think you do use it as a little bit of fuel, as a little bit of motivation,” Williams said.
Aikman called out some incompletions and pointed out instances in which the Bears might have gained more yards on a catch had Williams done a better job leading the receiver. He also said D'Andre Swift got lucky when he made a defender miss and turned a catch-and-run into a 55-yard touchdown.
The game features starting QBs who were teammates at Oklahoma and both wound up transferring for much different reasons.
Rattler lost his starting job when Williams replaced him during a wild comeback against Texas in 2021.
Rattler transferred to South Carolina for a fresh start and Williams transferred to Southern California to follow coach Lincoln Riley when he left the Sooners for the Trojans.
Both were drafted in 2024 — Williams first overall by the Bears and Rattler in the fifth round by the Saints.
“We all have our own paths,” Rattler said, adding that being replaced by Williams at Oklahoma “definitely led me to South Carolina.”
“It was a blessing in disguise that I got to play with the Gamecocks and develop there and get ready to go to the league after that,” Rattler said.
The Bears seemed to figure out a way to get Swift going during their bye. The one-time Pro Bowler delivered one of the best performances of his two seasons in Chicago against Washington.
Swift ran for by far a season-high 108 yards on 14 attempts behind a revised offensive line to go with that big touchdown reception. It was a big improvement for someone who was largely a nonfactor in the first four games. ___
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