Wil Lutz made a 35-yard field goal with 1 minute, 40 seconds to play in overtime to lift the New Orleans Saints to a 26-23 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Saints quarterback Drew Brees completed a 14-yard pass to Tre’Quan Smith to get the Saints into Bears territory on the winning drive, and running back Alvin Kamara had a 20-yard run to get the Saints to the 11-yard line. After a Saints delay-of-game penalty, Lutz made his fourth field goal of the game.
The Saints (5-2) won the coin toss after regulation and received the ball to start overtime. But the Bears defense came up with the stop.
After the Saints were flagged for holding, Brees threw back-to-back incompletions. On third-and-12 from their 45, Brees hit Taysom Hill for a 10-yard pass and the Saints punted.
But the Bears (5-3) got only to their 31-yard line on their possession. The Saints sacked quarterback Nick Foles twice, and Anthony Miller and Jimmy Graham each had drops on the drive to overshadow a stunning catch by Allen Robinson to convert a third-and-15.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 51-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play to send the game to overtime.
The Bears trailed 23-13 with 9:57 to play after Brees’ second touchdown pass before rallying with a 3-yard Foles touchdown pass to Darnell Mooney. The Bears defense came up with a stop to set up the drive for Santos’ tying field goal.
In regulation, Foles threw an interception and nearly had another one picked off. The interception came immediately after a bizarre incident in which Bears wide receiver Javon Wims punched Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson twice in the face mask. Wims was ejected.
Foles finished 28 of 41 for 272 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He hit Robinson for a diving, 24-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, two plays after a 50-yard bomb to Mooney.
Brees was 31 of 41 for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Bears got their running game going despite playing a Saints run defense that was ranked fourth in the league entering the game. David Montgomery had 21 carries for 89 yards, including a 38-yard run on a drive that ended in a field goal.
He outgained Kamara on the ground. Kamara had 67 rushing yards, but he also caught nine passes for 96 yards, including a 47-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter.
The Bears had a rough game with injuries. Right tackle Bobby Massie (knee) and defensive linemen Roy Robertson-Harris (shoulder) and John Jenkins (ankle) all left the game.
Here’s how Sunday’s game unfolded.
1st quarter: Saints take a 3-0 lead
Saints kicker Wil Lutz made a 38-yard field goal on the opening drive for a 3-0 lead against the Bears.
The Saints converted two third downs on the drive, including a 9-yard Taysom Hill run on third-and-5 from their own 30. On third-and-2 at the Bears’ 41-yard line, Saints running back Alvin Kamara broke outside for a 20-yard run.
The Bears defense held strong in their own territory. On the Saints’ final three plays before the field goal, they lost 1 yard and then had two more plays of 1 yard each.
1st quarter: Massie leaves with a leg injury
Bears right tackle Bobby Massie left Sunday’s game in the first quarter with a knee injury. He is questionable to return.
Massie went down on a 3-yard David Montgomery run with 6:22 to play in the first quarter. He walked off the field slowly, putting limited weight on his left leg, went to the injury tent and then to the locker room. Veteran backup Jason Spriggs took his place.
The injuries on the Bears offensive line are adding up. Left guard James Daniels has been out since Week 5 with a torn pectoral muscle, and center Cody Whitehair missed the first game of his career today with a calf injury.
Rashaad Coward and Sam Mustipher are filling in for Daniels and Whitehair.
1st quarter: Santos makes a 44-yard FG
Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 44-yard field goal to tie the game against the Saints at 3-3 with 1:13 to play in the first quarter.
The Bears’ first drive of the game went 49 yards over 14 plays. Running back David Montgomery had four carries on the drive, including a 9-yard gain on third-and-7 from the Saints’ 32-yard line. Quarterback Nick Foles also hit Anthony Miller with an 11-yard pass on a third-and-5 play earlier in the drive.
The drive also featured an appearance from backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who took a carry 3 yards before Foles returned.
2nd quarter: Saints FG attempt hits off upright
Saints kicker Wil Lutz’s 27-yard field-goal attempt hit the right upright and bounced out, and the Bears and Saints remained tied 3-3 early in the second quarter.
After a Saints penalty on the kickoff return backed them up to their 12-yard line, Alvin Kamara broke free for a 47-yard catch-and-run to the Bears 39. Kamara left Khalil Mack in his wake and cruised through open field before Eddie Jackson finally took him down.
Kamara also had a 14-yard catch from Drew Brees on the drive. But the Bears red-zone defense came through again to force the field goal.
The Bears and Saints kickers are kicking in windy conditions. At kickoff, 20 mph wind out of the southeast was announced.
2nd quarter: Deep pass to Mooney sets up Foles-to-Robinson TD
The Bears needed only four plays to take a 10-3 lead against the Saints.
After several missed deep shots in previous games, Nick Foles and Darnell Mooney finally connected on a 50-yard pass.
Two plays later, Allen Robinson beat Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore into the end zone and scored on a diving 24-yard catch.
2nd quarter: Another Santos FG puts Bears up 13-3
The Bears took a 13-3 lead on Cairo Santos’ 29-yard field goal with 1:39 left in the first half.
On third-and-1 from the Bears 48-yard line, David Montgomery broke free for a 38-yard run to get to the Saints 14.
But the Bears gained just 3 yards after that on a 1-yard Montgomery run, a 2-yard Nick Foles pass to Ryan Nall and an incomplete pass.
The Bears offensive line suffered another injury on the drive. Backup right tackle Jason Spriggs, who was filling in for Bobby Massie, left with an apparent left leg injury. Rashaad Coward moved to right tackle, and Alex Bars went in at left guard to fill the hole for one play before the field goal.
Bears defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris also left the game with a shoulder injury and was questionable to return.
Halftime: Saints cut Bears lead to 13-10 in closing seconds
Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ 16-yard touchdown pass to Jared Cook cut the Bears lead to 13-10 at halftime.
The Saints responded to a Bears field goal with a nine-play, 68-yard drive in just 1 minute, 36 seconds.
The drive was helped by a pass interference call on cornerback Kyle Fuller as he was defending wide receiver Deonte Harris. The 13-yard penalty brought the Saints to the 16-yard line, and two plays later Brees found Cook wide open in the end zone.
The Saints have outgained the Bears 203-175. The difference is a missed field goal by Saints kicker Wil Lutz.
3rd quarter: Saints tie it up after big punt return
Wil Lutz’s 27-yard field goal brought the Saints to a 13-13 tie with the Bears with 9:19 to play in the third quarter.
The Bears defense came up with a big stop after Saints punt returner Deonte Harris took Pat O’Donnell’s punt 26 yards to the Bears 16-yard line.
But the Saints gained only 7 yards on the next three plays, and they turned to Lutz.
The Bears advanced to their 32-yard line on their first drive of the second half. But a delay-of-game penalty, a sack for a loss of 9 yards and a false-start penalty on a punt backed them up to the 13 before Harris’ big return.
3rd quarter: Wims ejected before Foles interception
Bears wide receiver Javon Wims was ejected from the game midway through the third quarter after punching Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the face twice.
Gardner-Johnson was not covering Wims during the play before the altercation, and Wims walked several yards to approach him and punch him. The fight happened on the first play of the Bears’ second drive of the second half.
Immediately after the ejection, Bears quarterback Nick Foles threw an interception to Marshon Lattimore.
3rd quarter: Saints take 16-13 lead on FG
Wil Lutz made a 39-yard field goal to give the Saints a 16-13 lead against the Bears with 5:08 to play in the third quarter.
The Saints drive started at the Bears 39-yard line after Marshon Lattimore’s interception of Bears quarterback Nick Foles.
The Saints extended the drive by going for it on fourth-and-6 at the Bears 35. Saints quarterback Drew Brees hit Deonte Harris for an 8-yard pass. But after the Saints gained 7 yards on the next two carries, Brees’ third-down pass fell incomplete.
4th quarter: Saints open 23-13 lead after Bears fail on 4th down
Drew Brees hit Taysom Hill for a 20-yard touchdown pass to give the Saints a 23-13 lead with 9:57 to play.
The Saints started their drive after Bears quarterback Nick Foles nearly threw an interception on fourth-and-5 at the Saints 36-yard line. It fell incomplete, and the Saints took over.
Brees completed all five of his passes on the drive, including an 11-yarder to Jared Cook and a 13-yarder to Alvin Kamara to open the drive.
On the Saints’ previous drive, the Bears defense made a huge stop on fourth-and-1 at their 41-yard line to give the offense good field position. Kamara took the handoff, and inside linebacker Roquan Smith wrapped him up and took him down for a loss of 2 yards.
But the Bears offense couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity.
4th quarter: Darnell Mooney TD cuts Bears deficit to 23-20
Bears quarterback Nick Foles hit wide receiver Darnell Mooney with a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut the Saints’ lead to 23-20 with 3:32 to play.
Foles hit Allen Robinson for a 28-yard pass and Jimmy Graham for an 11-yarder on back-to-back plays to get the Bears to the 12-yard line.
Saints linebacker Demario Davis was called for pass interference while covering Graham in the end zone on third-and-12 at the 14. That gave the Bears the ball on the 1.
Running back David Montgomery lost 2 yards and carried for no gain on back-to-back plays before Foles found Mooney cutting into the right corner of the end zone.
4th quarter: Santos’ 3rd FG ties score at 23, sends game to OT
Bears kicker Cairo Santos made a 51-yard field goal to tie the game against the Saints 23-23 with 13 seconds to play in the fourth quarter and send the game to overtime.
Santos had to make two attempts. He also made his first one, but the Saints called a timeout before he got it off.
Cameron Jordan sacked Bears quarterback Nick Foles for a loss of 8 yards on second down to put the Bears at third-and-18 from the Saints 48-yard line. But Foles hit Anthony Miller with a 15-yard pass to get the Bears into field-goal range.
Earlier in the series, Foles extended the drive with an 11-yard pass to Miller on fourth-and-8 and a 7-yard pass to Allen Robinson on fourth-and-2.
After Foles hit rookie wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 3:35 to play, the Bears defense came up with a big stop.
On third-and-4, inside linebacker Danny Trevathan took down Alvin Kamara for a loss of 3 yards. The Saints punted, and the Bears took over at their 32.
