New Orleans 26 @ Chicago 23 Final - FOX

Scoring Plays:
1Q - NO - Wil Lutz 38 yd FG GOOD | NO 3, CHI 0
1Q - CHI - Cairo Santos 44 yd FG GOOD | NO 3, CHI 3
End of Quarter Score - New Orleans Saints 3, Chicago Bears 3
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2Q - CHI - Nick Foles to Allen Robinson II 24 yd TD pass (PAT Good) | NO 3, CHI 10
2Q - CHI - Cairo Santos 29 yd FG GOOD | NO 3, CHI 13
2Q - NO - Drew Brees to Jared Cook 16 yd TD pass (PAT Good) | NO 10, CHI 13
End of Quarter Score - New Orleans Saints 10, Chicago Bears 13
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3Q - NO - Wil Lutz 27 yd FG GOOD | NO 13, CHI 13
3Q - NO - Wil Lutz 39 yd FG GOOD | NO 16, CHI 13
End of Quarter Score - New Orleans Saints 16, Chicago Bears 13
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4Q - NO - Drew Brees to Taysom Hill 20 yd TD pass (PAT Good) | NO 23, CHI 13
4Q - CHI - Nick Foles to Darnell Mooney 3 yd TD pass (PAT Good) | NO 23, CHI 20
4Q - CHI - Cairo Santos 51 yd FG GOOD | NO 23, CHI 23
End of Quarter Score - New Orleans Saints 23, Chicago Bears 23
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OT - NO - Wil Lutz 35 yd FG GOOD | NO 26, CHI 23
Final Score - New Orleans Saints 26, Chicago Bears 23
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Hello Who Dats & Who Datettes, we're back for the Week 8, Game 7 Thread of the 2020 Season.

First off, it's All Saints Day which means Happy Birthday to your favorite football team and mine!!

We are through 1 week of the 4 week grind that could be considered the toughest part of our schedule, and so far so good at 1-0. But as this past Thursday pointed out, the Panthers weren't exactly the toughest team of this month-long stretch when they lost at home to the previously 1-win Falcons and fell to 1-3 in the NFC South (already finished season series vs. ATL 1-1).

And that same question of "your record is good but..." could very well also apply to today's opponent, the Chicago Bears.

Now the Bears and Saints do share 1 major result, a win over Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which should be enough to tell you to take Chicago seriously, especially in Soldier Field. But outside of that win, their other four victories are against the Lions, Giants, Falcons, & Panthers. Their 2 losses are to the Colts & Rams.

The Saints will somehow have to speed this game up. The Bears are living on their defense as their offense is last in the league in rushing and only right in the middle of the league in passing. Considering the attrition issues at wide receiver for the Saints, this was already going to be a game that laid squarely on the shoulders of the running back corps, and there's a silver lining to that as the Bears defense allows 120 rushing yards per contest. The Saints will have to run early, run often, and keep pounding at the Chicago D, and hope you get just enough from a receiving corps of Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, & Austin Carr, as well as the tight ends, to keep the Bears defense from keying on Kamara & Murray and keep them honest.

Plus, let's remember it was the Saints who killed the legend of current Bears starting QB Nick Foles by ending his miraculous postseason win streak with the Philadelphia Eagles with the 20-14 win in the Divisional Round of the playoffs following the 2018 season (not remembering what happened the next week... nope... you can't force me).

This is the second straight season the Saints head up to the Windy City. Week 7, October 20, 2019, the Saints traveled up to Soldier Field and saw Teddy Bridgewater throw for 3 TDs and Latavius Murray rush for more than 100 yards as the Saints rolled 36-25, closing out Bridgewater's stint as the Saints starting QB at 5-0.

LET'S SKIN THE BEARS AND MAKE IT FOUR STRAIGHT WINS!!!!

Injury Report: (Players only currently on the 53-man roster who have a game designation from the Friday injury report listed here)
NO- (remember... Emmanuel Sanders is on COVID-19 IR and will not be listed here)
Michael Thomas (Ankle/Hamstring) OUT
Marquez Callaway (Ankle) OUT
Nick Easton (Concussion) OUT

CHI-
Khalil Mack (Ankle) QUESTIONABLE
Cordarrelle Patterson (Quad) QUESTIONABLE
Allen Robinson (Concussion) DOUBTFUL (pretty sure I saw on Saturday that Robinson passed testing and is now expected to play)
Cody Whitehair (Calf) OUT
Eddie Jackson (Knee) QUESTIONABLE
Sherrick McManis (Hamstring) QUESTIONABLE

Weather: Gonna be a cold one in Chicago with a high in the mid-to-upper 30s, though by game time it'll be going down from there already headed to the 20s. And winds will be an issue too with sustained winds of 15-25 mph and gusts that could be around or higher than 40 mph. There should be no issues with precipitation though.

Uniforms: On the road we'll be in the white jerseys and black pants for today's game



Current Standings:
NFC South:
Buccaneers 5-2
Saints 4-2
Panthers 3-5
Falcons 2-6

NFC North:
Packers 5-1
Bears 5-2
Lions 3-3
Vikings 1-5

Betting Line: Saints (-4) O/U 42.5

Want to listen to Zach Strief, Deuce McAllister, & Steve Geller instead of Joe Buck & Troy Aikman?
Find your local Saints Radio Network affiliate at this link

Today's Officials: (all officiating crews are subject to change)
Referee: #99 Tony Corrente


Umpire: #64 Dan Ferrell
Down Judge: #9 Mark Perlman
Line Judge: #2 Bart Longson
Field Judge: #25 Ryan Dickson
Side Judge: #90 Anthony Flemming
Back Judge: #30 Todd Prukop
Replay Official: TBA
Replay Assistant: TBA
**Due to COVID "regionalizations" of crews, Corrente is working with a mostly new crew this season, including rookie NFL official Anthony Flemming. Todd Prukop, who was the back judge in THAT playoff game after the 2018 season and could've thrown THAT flag, is the only member of Corrente's 2019 crew that is with him in 2020.**

Inactive Lists:
NO-
WR Michael Thomas
WR Marquez Callaway
OL Nick Easton
DB Ken Crawley
DB D.J. Swearinger
OL Derrick Kelly
DT Malcolm Roach

CHI-
WR Ted Ginn, Jr.
CB Duke Shelley
RB Artavis Pierce
C Cody Whitehair
WR Riley Ridley
LB Trevis Gipson