The Bears are the worst third-quarter team in the NFL, and it’s no surprise that’s when they surrendered their lead Sunday in a 26-23 overtime loss to the Saints.
The Saints got two field goals in the third quarter, plus a touchdown just before halftime and another one to open the fourth quarter as they surged from a 13-3 deficit to a 23-13 lead. There’s a lot to dig into in the film review, starting with the anatomy of that 20-point swing:
Defensive collapse
The Bears defense has allowed the eighth-fewest points in the NFL and held the Saints seven points below their average through regulation. If the offense was average or better, that’d be enough, but with an offense this bad, their defense better be perfect.
It hasn’t been. Perfect, or close enough to it, is what they showed in 2018. This isn’t that.
Their most costly lapse, arguably, was allowing Drew Brees to lead the Saints on a 68-yard touchdown drive in 1:36 just before halftime to pull within 13-10.
“Knowing that we’re getting the ball to start the third and we gave up that touchdown there — we were doing a great job on D the whole time, and then they just kinda chunked away and got that touchdown at the end,” coach Matt Nagy said. “That was big.”
The Bears had that threat neutralized for a moment when Khalil Mack sacked Brees, and the Saints stumbled into third-and-13 at their own 40-yard line. That scenario should be a win for the Bears every time.
Instead, Brees hit running back Alvin Kamara behind the line of scrimmage, and Bears defensive back Sherrick McManis couldn’t stop him for a loss as Saints left guard Andrus Peat hustled to the outside to block him just enough to spring Kamara free. He ran 12 yards through the middle of the defense.
Then the Saints converted fourth-and-one on a toss left to Kamara.
That was a risky call by Sean Payton, but his team blocked it far better than the Bears did on a similar play against the Rams the week before. Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith weren’t fast enough to get to Kamara, and tight end Josh Hill took Bears safety Tashaun Gipson — the one with the best shot at making a stop — out of the play with an expert blocking performance.
A few plays later, Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson was playing behind tight end Jared Cook, and Cook shook him with a quick fake to get open for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
Terrible third quarter
That touchdown at the half hurt, and the Bears spiraled from there. The offense gained 43 yards on 13 plays and self-destructed with penalties that left the Bears with net advances of zero, minus-10 and three yards on their three possessions.
They went backward on five plays, gained only a yard on two and had an incompletion and interception.
The Bears have now been outscored 49-7 in the third quarter.
Explosive drive early
It wasn’t all bad for the Bears’ offense, which put up its third-highest points and yardage (329) totals of the season.
The high point was an 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that took just 2:28 and included a 50-yard pass to Darnell Mooney and a 24-yard strike to Allen Robinson for the score.
In the last four seasons, they’ve pulled off an 80-plus-yard touchdown drive in 2 1/2 minutes or less just three times.
David Montgomery’s five-yard run on first down set up the Bears to be completely unpredictable — for once — on second down. Mooney faked outside, then got a great jump on cornerback Janoris Jenkins inside and had him beat after about six yards.
“They like to bury you, let you go outside and just push you to the sideline,” Mooney said of the Saints’ corners. “I took advantage of that and then gave them something outside. He went for it, and I took my release inside.”
Nick Foles’ throw was a little behind him, but Mooney had enough space on Jenkins to slow up and still make the catch. Had Foles led him, Mooney might’ve gone 75 yards for the score.
His pass to Robinson for the touchdown was more precise. Robinson worked Pro Bowl corner Marshon Lattimore toward the inside, then raced away and made a diving catch in the end zone.
Graham goes ghost
Jimmy Graham had two catches for 13 yards despite being second on the team with seven targets and was so down on himself that he tweeted an apology after the game.
“I wasn’t good enough,” he wrote. “I let my team, city and myself down. I own it. I will be better.”
Graham is definitely an upgrade over everyone the Bears had at tight end last season, but he’s proving one-dimensional. The Bears keep him running short routes for the most part, which is likely because, in Year 11, his speed isn’t what it used to be. He’s still big and he can still jump, but outrunning people is tough at 33.
Graham has seven catches for 40 yards and four touchdowns in the red zone this season, but only 22 for 207 and no touchdowns otherwise.
Trubisky debuts as wildcat
Just when it seemed like Nagy was out of ideas, he pulled one out of his back pocket and sent benched quarterback Mitch Trubisky in as the wildcat against the Saints late in the first quarter.
Nagy hinted that the main purpose of his move is to create one more thing for upcoming opponents to worry about, but this might actually be useful. In his best overall season, Trubisky chipped in 30.1 yards per game at an average of 6.2 per carry.
Trubisky got three yards running to the left, and the combination of his athleticism and the potential of a pass could be an occasional spark for an offense that desperately needs one.
