Bears vs. Saints: Three things to watch in the Week 9 matchup
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Under the primetime lights of Los Angeles, we saw the Bears meltdown.
It's not the first time that's happened, but then we saw the Bears lose an assistant coach midseason a couple of days later. It wasn't the first time that's happened this season, either.
But let's be like an NFL cornerback and forget about the past and focus on what's next. To be fair, I don't know that that's what Jaylon Johnson is doing when it comes to the Bears giving him a contract extension.
Here are three things to watch when the Bears travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints on Sunday.
We start with the backup quarterback Tyson Bagent. He's now 1-1 as a starter, and we saw the playbook opened up for him a little. He won't just be taking on a top 10 defense in the Saints. Bagent will have to deal with 80,000-plus Caesar's Superdome fans that will be just a little more imposing than the laid-back crowd at SoFi Stadium. Bagent had issues once the Bears got down early and were one-dimensional. He threw two interceptions, but that number could have easily been four. And DJ Moore needs to go back to getting double-digit targets after a pedestrian four catches for 55 yards on six targets. We'll see how Bagent responds.
Our second thing to watch is the acclimation and assimilation of new Bears defensive end Montez Sweat. The former Washington Commander has 6.5 sacks. The Bears? They have 10 as a team through eight games. That's downright atrocious. And that's why quarterbacks like Justin Herbert are playing flag football against the Bears defense. So we'll see if Sweat can have an immediate impact and put Derek Carr on his back this week. All while we wait to see if and when the Bears will pay him.
Finally, we're back to the Bears offense as we keep an eye on the running game. For just the second time all season, the Bears were held under 100 yards last week. Right guard Nate Davis is out with a high ankle sprain, and Braxton Jones continues to deal with a neck injury that's had him on injured reserve for a month and a half. It will be interesting to see if the Bears can stay committed to the run, even if they get down early. I'm interested to see who gets the lion's share of carries between veteran D'Onta Foreman and rookie Roschon Johnson.
That's three things to watch when the Bears visit the Saints Sunday at noon. That's a game you can see on CBS 2.
