Chicago Bears Score and Recap (Week 9): Saints 24, Bears 17 – 4th Quarter Turnovers Make Things Hard For Bears In Big Easy

The Bears got off to a strong start against the Saints Sunday afternoon with two early touchdowns. Unfortunately, rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent fell apart late with three turnovers in the 4th quarter and New Orleans was able to hold on for a close win.

The Bears came out of the gate immediately and drove right down the field with Bagent throwing a jump ball that Cole Kmet made an outstanding catch on for an 18-yard touchdown. Chicago’s QB then made a bad decision on an interception that led to game-tying TD pass from Derek Carr to Chris Olave.

Kmet put the Bears back on top with his second score of the game on a 9-yard toss in the 2nd quarter. New Orleans responded with Carr completing a TD pass to jack-of-all-trades Taysom Hill and it was 14-14 at the half.

D.J. Moore had a costly fumble in the 3rd quarter that resulted in a Saint field goal. This time it was Chicago who responded with a 31-yard Cairo Santos kick to even the game at 17.

New Orleans would take the lead for good in the 4th quarter when Hill, in at quarterback, threw a touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson. Tyson Bagent ran into tons of issues in the last 10 minutes of the game with two interceptions and a fumble as the Saints went on to win 24-17. (Box score)

Why the Bears Lost

They had a chance to win this game but five turnovers were just way too much to overcome. Chicago has very little margin for error and they were far too sloppy to survive Sunday.

Key Moment

The Bears defense played well down the stretch giving their offense numerous chances to tie the score but they just could not take advantage.

Stats That Matter

• Kmet had a big game with six catches for 55 yards and the two scores.
• Darnell Mooney had his best afternoon of the season picking up five catches for 83 yards.
• D’Onta Foreman had a productive day with 20 carries for 83 yards.

Bottom Line

Any feeble attempts to create a quarterback controversy probably died with that turnover-fest of a fourth quarter by Bagent. Justin Fields is going to have one last chance to sink or swim the rest of the season when he comes back from his thumb injury. Other than that, there isn’t much left to fret about in 2023 besides maybe draft position.

Next Up

The Bears return home for a chance to improve their draft position with a win over the Carolina Panthers. The Thursday night game is November 9 at 7:15 pm CT on Amazon Prime.