Bears vs. Saints Odds
Bears vs. Saints Playoff Projections
The experts who power our NFL PRO Projections use their consensus team ratings to project a spread.
- Spread: Saints -7
Sean Koerner — one of those five experts — also outlines his individual projections:
- Spread: Saints -8.5
- Total: 47.5
Bears vs. Saints Player Ratings
Sean Koerner, our Director of Predictive Analytics, uses his player projections to calculate the most valuable players on each team based on their worth to the spread.
How the No. 7 Bears Reached Wild Card Weekend
The season has weirdly come full circle: There were hopes that the offense would click in a third season of Matt Nagy-Mitch Trubisky, especially with new backup Nick Foles around to apply pressure.
Playoff optimism turned to expectation following a 5-1 start, even after Foles took over for Trubisky during Week 3 against Atlanta. After six consecutive losses and sitting at 5-7, the only expectation was change.
The change fans wanted was in the front office with Ryan Pace, on the sidelines with Nagy and in the hidden executive suite seating Ted Phillips.
The change they got was Trubisky and the offense putting up big numbers in three straight wins before losing to the Packers in the season finale — but it didn't impact Chicago's postseason path.
How the No. 2 Saints Reached Wild Card Weekend
How did they get here?
Drew Brees looks every bit his age. Taysom Hill started four games. Michael Thomas has 109 fewer catches than a season ago.
Still, the Saints carried on in 2020 with another NFC South title and home playoff game. Make that four years in a row with those feats for Brees, Sean Payton and Co.
New Orleans has mostly taken care of business against bad teams, but the Saints do have two impressive wins over Tampa Bay. A three-point loss to the Chiefs can feel like a moral victory, even for the Saints.
The question now: What happens next?
The Saints could be without Thomas (ankle) and do-it-all running back Alvin Kamara (COVID-19) for the playoffs. Linebacker Kwon Alexander is out with a torn Achilles. This isn’t the 2009 version of Brees, and without Kamara and Thomas on the field, more pressure falls on his shoulders or — if Payton gets real gutsy — Hill’s.
