The Chicago Bears (4-2) have their first four-game winning streak since the end of the 2018 season, which is the last year they finished with a winning record or won the division.
10 thoughts from the Week 7 win over the New Orleans Saints, which featured four takeaways, an explosive running game and an off-day for QB Caleb Williams.
1. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was fielding a question Thursday about turnovers, something his defense has been doing a good job of collecting, when he interrupted the questioner.
“I call them takeaways,” Allen said.
Fair enough. We probably all can agree that not every turnover/takeaway is created equally, but the Bears took the ball away four times to spark Sunday’s 26-14 victory over the Saints at Soldier Field.
Allen’s opportunistic defense is on a takeaway roller coaster, and it has been a thrill ride for sure. The Bears have 15 takeaways in their last four games and lead the NFL with 16 for the season. They’re plus-11 in turnover differential, and after a gloomy morning turned into a gorgeous afternoon, the defense intercepted Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler three times and defensive end Montez Sweat had a strip-sack.
“They come in bunches, and these guys — we’ve got a method in place of how we want to practice it,” coach Ben Johnson said. “Dennis does a great job instilling that confidence in those guys, putting them in the right spot. When the ball touches their hands, they’re coming down with it. We really don’t have many drops on that side of the ball.
“They’re very conscious of it, when it’s a running play, to try to punch that ball and get it out. It’s just really working for us, and our team needs it. It’s really been the foundation of this last four-game stretch.”
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The extra possessions have helped the Bears remain successful, and they were needed with the offense scoring just two touchdowns in six red-zone trips Sunday. That has been a recurring theme. The Bears are 4-for-13 in the red zone over the last three games. Trading touchdowns for field goals can lead to losses in a hurry.
But take the ball away with frequency and you can cover up a lot of issues. Some called this a revenge game for Allen, who in two stints spent 15 of his first 24 NFL seasons with the Saints. That’s enough time for Allen to know how the business works. The Saints, with an aging roster and boatload of salary-cap issues, were 2-7 last season when he was fired as head coach. Someone is going to take the fall and it was him.
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler watches as Bears free safety Kevin Byard celebrates with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds after getting an interception during the third quarter at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025 in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Allen had more than enough knowledge of the Saints to know his defense had a chance to get after Rattler and maybe confuse a quarterback who entered the game with a 1-11 record as a starter in his second season. Rattler had been picked off only once in 203 attempts this season entering the game, but the Bears saw a young guy they could get after.
That involved a lot. Allen tried to disguise coverages. He brought defensive backs from all over the place. Extra safety Jonathan Owens was blitzing on Nahshon Wright’s interception. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon and strong safety Jaquan Brisker each had a sack as the defense had a season-high four.
“They were junking up the front,” Rattler said. “We knew that would be a heavy part of their plan.”
It’s the third time in the last five seasons the Bears have had at least four takeaways and four sacks in the same game. The takeaway binge is really something. Their 16 for the season is just eight shy of the 24 they had all of last season, a figure that was tied for 10th-best in the league.
Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen celebrates with middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) after Edmunds made an interception late in the fourth quarter against the Saints on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
In the last 10 seasons, there have been three other instances of a team having 15 or more takeaways in a four-game stretch. The Denver Broncos did it in 2023, the Buffalo Bills pulled it off in 2021 and the New England Patriots had a four-game stretch with 16 takeaways in 2019.
That’s how rare this is. Johnson used the common refrain that turnovers come in bunches. That’s true because, well, good luck getting three or four every week.
“It just comes down to being intentional in practice,” said defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who was pinching the pocket on Sweat’s sack when Rattler tried to escape without protecting the ball. “Every day we go out to practice, on the first play we’re like, ‘Hey, we need three today. We need four today.’ That emphasis shows up in practice and then transfers into the game.”
That’s what the Bears can coach: where to be and why to be there. Every defensive coach who ever walked through Halas Hall has sworn that taking the ball away was a hallmark of his defense. It’s about finding tells in the offense, small clues based on down, distance, personnel, formation — whatever — that can give a player an early step in the right direction. It’s how free safety Kevin Byard III baited Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith in Week 4.
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Byard hauled in his fourth interception of the season Sunday when Rattler tried to buy time rolling out of the pocket to his left and signaled wide receiver Rashid Shaheed to go deep. Byard saw the signal too and beat the receiver to the spot. Brisker wound up hitting Rattler just as he unloaded the pass.
“The ball has been on our mind,” Byard said. “(Secondary coach) Al (Harris) is some type of character from the Bible — he’s been prophesying. He said before the game (Saturday) night, I asked what the quota (would be), and he said four. And we got four again.
“That’s just the belief in us to be able to go get it. D.A. obviously put us in a position to make those plays, but it’s just special right now. I mean, I’m not going to make it seem like this has happened before, like I’ve ever been a part of that, so we’ve got to keep it rolling. If that’s what we need to do to win games, that’s what we’re going to do.”
Allen is certainly on a heater, and what stands out is that the Bears’ league-high 11 interceptions (Byard is tied with Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd for the most in the league) have come with not much of a pass rush before this game.
“You have to look for tactical clues that tell you where your opportunities might come to make a play,” Allen said. “When those opportunities present themselves, you have to be able to take advantage of it. You have to create population around the ball. It’s hard to take the ball away if you don’t have guys around it.”
Wright’s interception came on third-and-9. He knew the situation. He was able to see Mason Tipton break inside, and Wright simply undercut the route and beat Tipton to the spot. That’s putting a few clues together and then delivering.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds’ third interception of the season came on a fourth-and-2, play-action rollout when he was one of three defenders in the area after T.J. Edwards deflected a throw to tight end Jack Stoll. That’s population around the ball.
The last time the Bears were elite at stockpiling takeaways was 2018, when Vic Fangio’s unit led the league with 36. It’s no coincidence that’s the last time the Bears played a winning brand of ball with any consistency. Pretty much the same players, without Fangio, had only 19 takeaways the next season.
Sometimes the ball bounces funny directions, and right now it’s going the Bears’ way. They’re also doing a good job of creating their own breaks.
Is it really sustainable?
“Of course,” Gordon said. “We’ve been doing it the whole season. You don’t think so?”
Told that the Bears would set some records if they do, Gordon smiled.
“We’re getting there,” he said.
One takeaway — not turnover — at a time.
2. Six days after the ground game finally got churning with five explosive runs in a victory at Washington, the Bears really got rolling behind the offensive line.
Bears running back D’Andre Swift runs for a first down during the fourth quarter against the Saints on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
D’Andre Swift carried 19 times for 124 yards and now had a second consecutive 100-yard game for just the third time in his career. Rookie Kyle Monangai enjoyed, by far, his best game with 13 carries for 81 yards as the offense piled up a season-high 222 yards on 40 carries (5.6 average).
What jumps out is the big runs, and there were eight explosive runs (10 yards or more) with Swift getting five — 11 (touchdown), 17, 15, 23 and 11. Monangai had a 14-yard carry and ran for 24 with the Bears running out the clock at the end. Roschon Johnson even had an 11-yard carry on a third-and-2, his only touch of the game.
“Both ball carriers ran physical, ran violent, but huge credit to our offensive line and the tight ends in that core blocking unit because you could feel that line of scrimmage move at times,” coach Ben Johnson said. “And our backs were finding the holes. That was really the name of the game there.”
After running for 145 yards against the Commanders, the Bears were even more productive against the Saints — and these are true rushing totals, not numbers that are inflated by quarterback Caleb Williams, who has the ability to pull the ball down and take off.
The Bears just kept plugging away. They moved Theo Benedet to left tackle in the second quarter of the Week 4 game at Las Vegas and the right side of the line, tackle Darnell Wright and guard Jonah Jackson, have been playing well.
So much for the idea that the Bears needed to go out and trade for a running back, right?
“We’ve been pretty consistent with that message, that it was just going to take a little bit of time to get our O-line on the same page and feel good about their fits and their combinations,” Johnson said. “I think that’s starting to come together. You accumulate the reps over the course of camp and through these first five games, going into the sixth one here, and I think you really see it start to come to life a little bit. Credit to them.
“They’re really well-coached. (Offensive line coach) Dan Roushar, (assistant offensive line coach) Kyle DeVan, they do tremendous jobs and they’ve been very consistent with that crew. It’s a prideful group. Obviously, they want to protect the quarterback in the passing game and they want to be able to run for 200 (yards) every week in the running game.”
My biggest takeaway from the ground attack — besides seeing the line begin to mesh — was the emergence of Monangai. That’s really important here because while the Bears don’t talk about it, I think the sweet spot for Swift in terms of carries in a season is somewhere around 250.
Would he like more than that? Sure. What back wouldn’t? But Swift isn’t a thumper. He’s a guy with juice who can be electric when he’s got some space and an open lane. He’s got 89 carries on the season, averaging 14.8 per game, and that puts him on pace for 252 for the season. That’s right about where I think the Bears would like to be and while he had 19 on Sunday, he’s not going to get that many every game. Monangai showing he’s more than capable will give the Bears confidence they can spell Swift and still be productive running the ball.
“I’m not the coach,” Swift said of the split in carries. “(Monangai) had a hell of a game. When the O-line is doing what they are doing and the receivers are blocking, everyone in our room should have a phenomenal day.”
Monangai is tough and he caught two passes out of the backfield for 13 yards. One looked like it was doomed for next to no yardage and he broke through two tackles to get 7. If the Bears can count on him in most passing situations, it’s going to make it easier to play him.
Bears running back Kyle Monangai puts a move on Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry in the third quarter on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
“The more we show that we can do it, the more confident, the more (Johnson) feels that (confidence) to call those runs like he tells us all the time,” Monangai said. “So, yeah, we’re going to have to run the ball at the end of the day. That’s what he likes to do, and we’ve got to make the most of these play calls.”
All five explosive runs at Washington came from 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end and three receivers) with the Bears attacking the perimeter. The game plan was more varied against New Orleans. Three of the eight explosive runs came from 11. Three were out of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two wide receivers) and two came in 13 personnel with one back, three tight ends and one receiver.
“That’s what I like there,” said tight end Durham Smythe. “When we can run the ball, especially with what I do, and what all the tight ends do, it feels pretty good when you can run for 200 plus. I tell people all the time it feels good to catch a touchdown but for me, to see the running back flying past you to make a 30-yard gain, that feels just as good.
“You really run the game at that point when you’re having success on the ground. You can control the tempo of the game, the clock. There is a lot that goes into running the ball effectively other than just gaining yards. That is why it is so important.”
3. The Bears should have some valid questions about a few penalties that went against them.
Bears coach Ben Johnson stands beside a referee after challenging a call in the fourth quarter against the Saints on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The offensive pass interference call against tight end Colston Loveland for a pick was iffy. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon was penalized for unnecessary roughness after tackling running back Alvin Kamara following a short pass. It was hardly egregious.
But a few questionable calls here and a few there don’t explain how this team continues to rack up penalty yardage, a problem that has impacted struggles in the red zone.
The Bears have 53 penalties for 453 yards, the most penalties they’ve had in a six-game stretch since they had 54 in six consecutive games during the 2004 season. It’s not like they’ve just run into flag-happy crews. Their opponents have been penalized 30 times for 229 yards and that difference in yardage is the biggest in the league. The Bears are at a minus-224 deficit in penalty yards. If you equate 100 yards — the length of the field — to a touchdown, that’s 2.2 touchdowns.
A week after having no false starts at Washington, the Bears were called for five — two on left tackle Theo Benedet, one on tight ends Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland, and one on center Drew Dalman. That gives the Bears 14 false starts, half as many as they had all last season.
“I would say I was hopeful that by Game 6 we would play cleaner football than that,” coach Ben Johnson said.
The penalties are one reason why the offense has been stalling out in the red zone. The Bears are 4-for-13 scoring touchdowns on trips to the red zone over the last three games. In fairness, the number should be 4-for-12 as the final red zone trip Sunday was when they kneeled the ball down to end the game.
Still, 4-for-12 doesn’t cut it and a penalty has truncated four of the drives that became field goals. Dalman’s false start — and the Bears are lucky a penalty was called because the ball wound up on the ground on fourth-and-1 and would have otherwise been a turnover on downs — occurred at the 1-yard line.
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“I have to see the film,” Dalman said. “If the ref said I double-clutched it, I am sure he is right. I must have hitched it, reacted to the wrong part of the cadence or something like that. I honestly don’t know. But it was on me.
“It’s part of my technique that I need to fix and it will be an emphasis going forward. That’s my own technical issue.”
Loveland’s false start happened on third-and-10 at the 14-yard line and that drive ended on a 33-yard Jake Moody field goal. At Washington, an illegal formation penalty on Benedet erased a touchdown pass to Rome Odunze and the drive culminated in a 41-yard field goal. In Las Vegas, Olamide Zaccheaus was called for holding on a 9-yard pass to DJ Moore that came on a third-and-12 play from the 16-yard line. Who knows? With no penalty, maybe Johnson goes for it on fourth down.
Johnson said he didn’t know what went wrong with the fourth-and-1 snap and was offering short answers. This is the kind of stuff that can really incense a coach like Johnson, who preaches the small details every day.
“We’ll have to take a look at it,” he said. “I can’t tell you off the top of my head.”
The Bears have been working on this. They will have to continue to look at ways to tighten up the operation. Penalties will happen. It’s part of the game. The pre-snap ones are something good offenses avoid.
“Obviously after the self-scout of the bye, you look at (the penalties) and go, ‘This is a problem. We need to continue to address this,’” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said. “Every penalty’s different. You can look at it and say whatever you want, whether you agree or not, it doesn’t really matter. When they throw the flag, it’s a penalty.
“The biggest thing is figuring out how we teach those things moving forward to avoid those. Every situation is different, whether you’re talking about a pass interference or we’re lined up offsides or something like that, but it really is specific to the individual play, whatever that infraction was, but we’re still looking to clean that up in pre-snap.”
Gordon was still in disbelief after the game. He clearly hit Kamara on the shoulder. Gordon’s left hand contacts the helmet when Kamara is going to the turf but it sure didn’t look like it was worthy of a penalty. Fortunately for the Bears, the Saints’ drive quickly stalled out after the penalty.
“Blew him up,” Gordon said. “Did my job and they didn’t like it. I don’t know what to say. You can review the film and I’m hoping I don’t get fined. I’m not trying to get fined. I think I did the right thing. We’ll review it.”
The Bears have got a lot to review. There’s even more to clean up.
4. When Ben Johnson says there will not be linear improvement for Caleb Williams, it’s because there will be games like the quarterback had on Sunday.
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throws a pass in the second quarter against the Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago on Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Williams completed 15 of 26 passes for 172 yards and one interception. He was off for much of the game, missed open receivers, struggled throwing on the move and did so when there might have been opportunities to run.
He’s now completed 113 of 185 passes (61.1%) and that is below where he was at as a rookie when he completed 62.5%. That’s right in the range Justin Fields had in terms of completion percentage. Williams ranked 29th among 34 qualifying passers entering Week 7.
“Guys got open and I think I missed,” Williams said. “That’s what it boils down to. Other than that, it’s just being able to have it on my conscience that I can help this team, not only by scrambling and delivering a good ball to receivers, which I didn’t do that well today, and it’s also understanding that I can run and hurt a team with my legs.”
The interception by cornerback Quincy Riley came on a deep out route for Rome Odunze along the sideline. The ball was late and behind Odunze. It was third-and-17, so the Bears needed a big gain and Williams took a shot.
Elements of the game are frustrating because Williams displayed growth, especially from the start of training camp, in the first five games. Has he arrived? No. But he’s done some things really well, including handling pressure better, throwing on third down and being on-schedule more. There’s a lot more work to do, though, to consistently work through progressions.
“Days like today are needed, just in the sense of it gives you a little bit more to be able to look back on something and figure out what?” Williams said. “So that’s important. So you have these moments, and then you get later in the season and you may start to have one of these moments, and you get to go back to the feeling, go back to what was wrong and what you need to figure out early in the season, so now we’re late in the season, it’s like, ‘OK, I remember what it was, I remember how can I fix it.’
“It’s more of a solution-based thing instead of it being, ‘All right, what’s the issue?’ Right now we’re going to go back, I’m going to go look at the film and I’m going to figure this out, especially with some of these explosive plays. I haven’t been efficient with those. I haven’t been hitting those, and it’s frustrating. We’re going to figure this out. I’m going to figure it out. When we start hitting on those cylinders where we start having some of these explosive plays, especially when the play breaks and it turns into our second play, it’s going to be real devastating to the other side. Other than that, it just comes down to the basics. Feet, eyes, delivering a good ball to the guys, and then it comes down to before (the snap), communication and making sure everybody is on the same page and we’re rolling off the ball.”
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks down the field on a scramble in the first quarter against the Saints at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The center-quarterback exchanges have to be cleaned up, too. Williams had an aborted play on an exchange in the first quarter on third-and-4 from the Saints’ 6-yard line. It was another red zone snafu that led to Jake Moody’s 27-yard field goal. Then, there was the botched fourth-and-1 play. There was also an aborted play on a snap at Las Vegas.
“It’s frustrating because the pre-snap stuff, the Q-C exchange, it is frustrating just because we put so much time and energy into it, but I wouldn’t say I put that on anybody,” Williams said. “I can take that blame just because it comes down to cadence, it comes down to everybody being on one page and having everybody calm and understanding we’re going to go execute this play.
“We just need to snap the ball at the right time and be able to hit plays at the right time, execute the plays, and that comes down to communication. That comes down to knowing what we have to do. That comes down to the cadence at the end of the day. I can always help in those situations and we’ll be better with that coming forward.”
5. The last time the Bears faced the Baltimore Ravens, in Week 11 of the 2021 season, Roquan Smith put together one of the better games of his young career, totaling 17 tackles (13 solos, two for loss) in a 16-13 last-minute loss at Soldier Field.
Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith in action during the second half against the Lions on Sept. 22, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams)
It was a career-high in tackles for Smith in a Bears uniform and now the franchise that drafted him with the eighth pick in 2018 prepares to face him as an opponent for the first time. Smith, who has been sidelined since Sept. 28 with a hamstring injury, is expected to return for Sunday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium.
It’s a big deal. Smith has been named first-team All-Pro in three consecutive seasons. Brian Urlacher was honored as an All-Pro four times in his Hall of Fame career. Last year, Smith became the youngest player in league history to reach 1,000 career tackles.
When general manager Ryan Poles arrived in 2022, he wanted to keep Smith, who was playing on the fifth-year option in his contract. The situation was complex as Smith was working without an NFLPA-certified agent and Poles, in his first season on the job, wasn’t able to complete a deal.
The Bears did not want to use the franchise tag for Smith because linebackers are bundled together in determining that figure, meaning the price for inside linebackers is inflated by edge rushers who pile up big sack numbers while being classified as outside linebackers. The team made a best-and-final offer to Smith before the season opened and the sides never discovered any middle ground.
The team said there was a “record-setting” element to the offer it made Smith, but he was driven to become the first inside linebacker to average $20 million per season and ultimately received that from the Ravens in the form of a $100 million, five-year contract that included $45 million fully guaranteed.
Smith was the NFL’s highest-paid off-the-ball linebacker until May, when the San Francisco 49ers rewarded Fred Warner with a new deal that averages $21 million per season. One of the snags for the Bears in the fallout from the trade is they replaced Smith with Tremaine Edmunds, who was a marquee member of the club’s 2023 free-agent class. Edmunds’ $72 million, four-year contract ranks third in the league for off-the-ball linebackers at $18 million per season and it included $41.8 million guaranteed.
The Bears liked Edmunds a lot. He was 23 when he was signed and his frame — 6-foot-4, 251 pounds with an 83-inch wingspan — and mobility drew comps, however unrealistic, to Urlacher. He was deemed to be a perfect fit for the middle of Matt Eberflus’ defense.
Edmunds has been good for the Bears — not great. In fairness, he’s off to his best start in three seasons with the club. After making nine tackles against New Orleans, Edmunds has 47 tackles over the last four games. That is the highest total of his career in any four-game stretch.
Bears middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds celebrates after sacking Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler in the fourth quarter Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
He had a stat-stuffer performance with a sack and an interception, his third of the season. Smith has three games with a sack and an interception in his career, two with the Bears. Urlacher had five such games and Edmunds accomplished the feat once previously with the Bills.
Overall, however, there’s a greater discrepancy in the play between Smith and Edmunds than there is in the pay when you evaluate the overall body of work. Smith is an elite performer and Edmunds is a good veteran, a very good one to this point in the 2025 season. The Bears paid down about $4 million of Smith’s 2022 salary in the trade and in return received second- and fifth-round picks and throw-in linebacker A.J. Klein.
Had the Bears knocked it out of the park with the trade compensation — which turned into defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. and linebacker Noah Sewell — a hindsight view of the deal would be more favorable. Dexter is still trying to make a consistent impact playing nose tackle and three-technique (he has masqueraded a bit as a defensive end lately), and Sewell is a third linebacker when available.
It’s easy to pick apart a transaction nearly three years later. In the moment, Poles didn’t see a path to reaching an agreement with Smith. Right or wrong, the club’s valuation of Smith didn’t meet his own and the obstacles involved cannot be underestimated when an agent isn’t part of the process. In the criticism of Poles for trading an elite player there was little mention of the reality that his predecessor, Ryan Pace, had ample time to craft a multi-year extension for a player he drafted. Pace, who did a good job of selecting Smith, also failed to get a second contract done. If there’s a good reminder in the whole experience, and there are probably a few, one is that early extensions for impactful players usually benefit the team.
I am curious if Poles, then a rookie GM, would operate differently if he had it to do over again. There’s no question it was a difficult situation for him and trading Smith was never a goal he set out to complete when he arrived.
Would Smith, who was leading the league in tackles at the time of the trade, have accepted a contract with identical terms from the Bears? I don’t know the answer to that question. The Bears were in the throes of a lengthy rebuilding process. It’s certainly easier to accept a lucrative contract from a perennial winner like the Ravens.
Trading a captain like Smith came on the heels of the Bears trading another captain, defensive end Robert Quinn, and the Smith move had a seismic effect on the locker room.
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“It was almost disbelief,” said tight end Cole Kmet, who was in the middle of his third season. “You just couldn’t believe it. It was kind of my first moment of realizing stuff has changed over from Ryan (Pace) to Ryan (Poles). It was a realization that really, at the end of the day, anybody is up for grabs.
“You know it’s a business but Roquan really was the Bear. He would always do the pregame speeches. He was the unequivocal leader of the locker room and spirit in the locker room. I’ve got a lot of respect for Roquan. When I was here initially, we went (5-1) to start my rookie year (2020) and it was Roquan leading the charge with the defense. It was surprising and shocking but you come to realize that maybe all but five or six people in this league can be traded.”
Poles not only had to explain the trade to the public, but he had to detail the reason behind the move to the locker room, a far more important task.
“He actually pulled a few of us upstairs to tell us,” Kmet said. “I was. The news had already gotten out but he said, ‘Hey, this is a decision we felt like we had to make for the organization going forward.’ He understood some guys wouldn’t be very happy with that at the time. I think Ryan understands the emotional aspect and the relationship aspect and I don’t think it was easy for him to do either. I thought he handled it well in terms of how he portrayed it to the locker room and making sure guys understood.”
Bears wide receiver Devin Duvernay was with the Ravens at the time of the trade and remained with them through the next season.
“I remember the day (Nov. 1, 2022) we traded for him,” Duvernay said. “We got the alert and it was, ‘Damn, we’re getting Roquan Smith!’ His impact was big. Sideline to sideline player. He was a tone setter for sure.
“He took over quickly as one of the leaders. Guys followed him.”
This game has been circled by Smith for a while. He said as much on NFL Network back in May when the schedule was released.
“I have a couple guys over there I still know, keep up with and a lot of my friends are in Chicago,” Smith said. “I know a lot of them are going to be at the game. It’s going to be one I’ve been looking forward to for a little while now.
“Each and every guy who’s out there, lined up across from me. Whether that’s center, running back (D’Andre) Swift my guy from college (Georgia), a receiver across the middle, a tight end, whoever. Every single guy has to get dealt with.”
6. The Bears were on their way to a runaway victory before they stumbled — on both sides of the ball — just before halftime.
Saints cornerback Quincy Riley intercepts a pass for Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze during the first quarter on Oct. 19, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Leading 20-0, the Bears began a drive at their own 43 with 1:38 remaining in the second quarter and the Saints holding three timeouts. Coach Ben Johnson put his foot on the gas and, ultimately, it gave New Orleans a slim chance to do something and the Saints came through.
Caleb Williams spun out of a sack on first down and then missed Rome Odunze high with a throw. Williams was pressured on second down and again missed Odunze deep down the right side. A short pass on third down led to a Saints’ timeout with 1:18 remaining.
Tory Taylor’s punt was well executed and down at the Saints’ 9-yard line. No problem, right?
Well, Spencer Rattler had a 13-yard pass and then connected deep to Chris Olave, who split Cover-2 coverage and was behind cornerback Tyrique Stevenson for a 57-yard gain. Two plays later, Rattler and Olave hooked up again for a 21-yard touchdown down the seam.
The Saints trailed 20-7 and then they got the ball to open the third quarter — the Bears had chosen to take the ball to begin the game when they won the coin toss. New Orleans drove for another touchdown and the laugher in progress was suddenly a 20-14 game.
“I put the before half on us offensively as much as giving up that big play on defense,” Johnson said. “We had that three-and-out. We had control of possessing that ball before halftime, and we didn’t do a good enough job. I think that’s two weeks in a row there we’ve had a three-and-out before halftime. Something that we practice, something that we really stress, and we’re not getting the job done there. We put the defense in a bad spot.
“I thought we limited their explosives throughout that day, except for the one before halftime that resulted in points for them. Then out of halftime, I thought we had some chances and we just couldn’t stop them. But beyond those two drives, I thought the defense played some of the best ball we’ve played all year.”
That’s fair. It’s also reasonable to suggest that on a day when Williams wasn’t at his best, the Bears could have run the ball with 1:38 remaining, forced the Saints to burn through timeouts and given them less of a chance for a touchdown drive. Who knows? Maybe the Bears pick up a first down on the ground and then have a chance for a shot play.
Johnson said the weather — the forecast called for potentially high winds — factored in the decision to take the ball with the coin toss.
“It was weather-related,” he said. “It’s a windy day so I want to be able to control in the second half which way we’re going.”
Fortunately, the weather wasn’t a huge factor as a wet and gloomy morning turned into a pleasant fall afternoon.
7. Luther Burden III had another big play — this one a 22-yard reception — in the third quarter a week after putting up some big plays at Washington.
Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III makes a catch during the third quarter against the Saints at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
The question is, when will Burden be a bigger part of the offense?
The play was interesting. Burden came in motion from the right side of the formation. The Bears blocked strong to the right side and center Drew Dalman peeled back to block the left edge. It’s something the New England Patriots used to do with Tom Brady at quarterback. It allows the back to get out into the pattern and can buy the quarterback a little more time for a longer developing play.
“It was just a situation where they had been playing a lot of zone,” Burden said. “We’d been working it all week, a little in-route. I’d come in motion and we knew they would be playing off. We knew I was going to have leverage to break inside and get a good completion.”
Burden has 12 catches for 172 yards, including the 65-yard touchdown against Dallas in Week 3, and he’s averaging 14.3 yards per catch. Rome Odunze is the most consistent receiver the Bears have, but the second-round draft pick Burden might be the most explosive option.
By my unofficial count, Burden was on the field for a season-high 20 snaps. He had one other target and lost 1 yard on a carry. That’s two touches and three chances to get him the ball.
“I just do my part, man,” he said. “When my number is called, I just try to make a play.”
Bears wide receiver Luther Burden III looks to gain some yards in the first quarter of a game against the Saints at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
The Bears are trying to get him more involved. Olamide Zaccheaus, who had 54 snaps at Washington when the offense went with a lot of three-receiver packages, was on the field for 38 plays, unofficially.
Where are the coaches at in terms of integrating Burden into the offense more?
“He does a better job throughout the week of his preparation process,” passing game coordinator Press Taylor said. “That’s the thing for young guys. Week to week it’s a whole new game plan. We may put in 25 new plays that we could tell you, ‘These are the same as these plays,’ but there are little wrinkles that cause you to change.
“In college, it’s not necessarily that way. It’s kind of, ‘This is our playbook. This is what we run.’ Here, we’re more game plan-oriented in the NFL so I think that is a challenge for those guys. He’s started to hit his stride. Wednesdays are our fresh start (each week). Here we go. Let’s attack it. That helps rookies when they understand that.”
Burden said it’s accurate that there are new plays each week that have small elements that distinguish them from similar calls that may have been in previous weeks, but he doesn’t believe that is holding him back from bigger things.
“I don’t think I’ve got any challenges,” he said. “I just, shoot, get in when I am called to get in and when my number is called, I just try to make a play.”
8. Want a great example of a role player doing well and earning more opportunities? Look no further than defensive end Dominique Robinson.
Bears defensive end Dominique Robinson pursues Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler as Rattler makes a pass in the second quarter of a game at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
He had a season-high 31 snaps by my unofficial count — he was averaging 16.8 through the first five games — and Robinson had a tackle for loss, stuffing Taysom Hill 9 yards behind the line of scrimmage on a run play. He also had a quarterback hit, his third of the season.
I wish I had a chance to chat with Robinson after the game to ask about his expanded role, but I did touch base with defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett because the fourth-year player has been showing up a little bit each week.
“You start with the athlete,” Garrett said. “He’s athletic. He can jump. He’s a good mover. I think you look at that ability and you say, OK, where can you put this guy to highlight what he does and what kind of mover he is? What type of movements, what type of stunt mechanics, what type of pressures and those type of things. He’s done a good job for us. Like he’s been very, very consistent as far as improvement. All we want to see is all the guys consistently getting better.
“He’s impacting on special teams as well. He’s getting more snaps there. He’s getting some snaps with us. And we’ve got some production. You get 12 snaps and three or four out of the 12 you are somewhere near the ball or making a play, that’s pretty good. You’ll get more.”
Robinson got more and his ascent is probably one reason why the team decided to wait one more week to activate Austin Booker from injured reserve to the 53-man roster. Booker, working his way back from a preseason knee injury, has been a full participant in practice for two weeks but the team chose to keep him down one more week.
Expect Booker to be on the 53-man roster before Sunday’s game at Baltimore. What that does for the rotation remains to be seen. Booker could factor in pass-rushing situations but it’s clear the coaches are comfortable leaning into Robinson a little bit more.
As far as defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, it wasn’t a surprise he was inactive. Jarrett was limited in practice on Friday, his first appearance on the field since the Week 3 game against the Cowboys. He’s still hobbled a little bit and it’s my belief he had a procedure on his right knee. We’ll see what his practice load looks like in the coming days.
9. Mid-October is entirely too early to start wondering about the playoffs unless you are talking about Major League Baseball.
Bears fans Jason Hiller and his nephew Josh Hiller, right, stroll on the concourse at Soldier Field before a Bears-Saints game Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
There is a long way to go and a ton of ground to cover. The Bears sit in third place in the division, with the Detroit Lions (4-2) hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-1) Monday night. The Lions are a 6-point favorite but if they are upset, the Bears would move into second place.
A victory, even against an underwhelming Saints team, is a victory and there’s a big difference between being 3-3 heading into Week 8 and 4-2 like the Bears. A real big difference.
The sample size is still relatively small, but in the last five seasons since the NFL expanded to a 14-team playoff system in 2020, there have been 40 teams to begin 3-3. Of that group, 13 (32.5%) went on to reach the postseason. Twenty-seven teams (67.5%), including the 2021 Bears, fell short of the playoffs and only five in that group of 27 teams finished above .500.
The numbers are much more favorable for teams to open a season 4-2 in the same span. Of the 34 teams to begin 4-2 over the previous five seasons, 25 (73.5%) made the playoffs, including three Super Bowl winners — Tampa Bay (2020), Kansas City (2022) and Philadelphia (2024). Only 26.5% (nine teams) to open 4-2 packed things up after the regular season.
Over the years, coaches have said the schedule up to Thanksgiving is when teams get in position to make a run for the playoffs. If you go ahead and group the Nov. 28 Black Friday game at Philadelphia into that pre-Thanksgiving schedule, the Bears have six games to get prepped for a postseason push.
Sunday at Baltimore (1-5)
Nov. 2 at Cincinnati (3-4)
Nov. 9 New York Giants (2-5)
Nov. 16 at Minnesota (3-3)
Nov. 23 Pittsburgh (4-2)
Nov. 28 at Philadelphia (5-2)
That’s four road games in a 34-day stretch. The Ravens could be much more formidable than their record indicates with quarterback Lamar Jackson and linebacker Roquan Smith returning from injuries. The Bengals showed some punch on Thursday night against Pittsburgh. The Giants have some juice with rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
It’s going to be a really interesting stretch for the Bears, one that will define what kind of position they will be in when teams really start jockeying for the playoffs.
10. There’s good reason to keep a close eye on tight end Cole Kmet (back) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (shoulder) as neither one finished the game.
Bears tight end Cole Kmet blocks Saints defensive end Chase Young on a play in the second quarter of a game at Soldier Field on Oct. 19, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Kmet has played in 90 consecutive games and I’ve always maintained that tight end is one of the positions where it is difficult for players to remain healthy, especially over a long stretch. Why? They’re asked to block guys bigger than them in the running game where bodies get tangled up. Then, they’re exposed to hits from faster defenders when they’re running routes. Occasionally, they can get targeted by a defender who is a missile.
“It is wildly impressive,” said tight end Durham Smythe, who played with Kmet for one season at Notre Dame and has appeared in 118 of a possible 122 regular-season games in his eight-year career. “He’s a tough, for lack of a better term, he’s a tough (son of a gun).”
Kmet suffered what looked like a potentially bad ankle injury during training camp. He was spotted in a walking boot. He missed one practice — on Aug. 5 — according to my injury document from training camp.
10a. A porous run defense has gotten plenty of space in this column in previous weeks, so it has to be noted that the Bears limited the Saints to 44 yards on 17 carries (2.6 average). The Saints didn’t present a great threat on the ground with Alvin Kamara but the Bears have had a tough time against pretty much everyone and they rose to the occasion. Credit to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and the front seven. The return of linebacker T.J. Edwards from a hamstring injury has made a difference.
10b. The Bears don’t just open the doors to Halas Hall in support of girls flag football on occasion. They’ve gotten behind the fast-growing sport with financial commitments and via social media. It goes beyond that, though. Chairman George McCaskey was at Willowbrook High School over the weekend as a member of the chain gang for the IHSA state championships.
10c. The CBS crew of Ian Eagle, J.J. Watt and Evan Washburn will call Sunday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
10d. The Ravens opened as a 6 1/2-point favorite over the Bears for Sunday’s game in Baltimore at Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/20/chicago-bears-brad-biggs-10-thoughts-week-7/
