Bears vs. Saints: Final score and highlights

The Bears didn’t look like a team that just had a week off in an ugly 36-25 loss to the Saints on Sunday afternoon. It’s fair to say some alarm bells will be rang after a loss that was arguably even worse than the score.

The Saints completely dominated this game on both ends of the ball until garbage time. After a Cordarrelle Patterson kick return touchdown, the Bears allowed 27 unanswered points before scoring again. Meanwhile, Saints kicker Wil Lutz missed a pair of field goals.

The return of Mitch Trubisky definitely did not lead to the intended results for Matt Nagy’s crew. Relive a rough Week 7 loss to New Orleans.

Final score: Saints 36, Bears 25

Saints 36, Bears 25: After a review of the last onside kick, the referees rule that Ben Braunecker had gone out of bounds without reestablishing position in-bounds before recovering the ball, so it’s ruled that the Saints get possession. They’ll likely be able to run the clock out now.

Saints 36, Bears 25: What?!?! The Bears recover a second consecutive onside kick and have the ball back with 48 seconds remaining. At least they’re keeping it interesting even if a comeback remains out of reach.

Saints 36, Bears 25: TOUCHDOWN! Mitch Trubisky hits Javon Wims for an easy score to keep cutting into the lead.

Saints 36, Bears 18: At the two-minute warning, the Bears have the ball at the Saints’ 27. They’d need a quick TD plus two-point conversion, another onside kick, another quick TD plus two-point conversion, another onside kick, and a field goal to win. Hmmm. Seems unlikely.

Saints 36, Bears 18: The Bears recover the onside kick after Michael Thomas tries to recover it, so the offense takes the field again. Unfortunately, trailing by three scores, we’re still talking about a miracle.

Saints 36, Bears 18: Adam Shaheen makes a stellar catch for the two-point conversion to cut into the lead with 2:31 remaining.

Saints 36, Bears 16: TOUCHDOWN! After nearly throwing an interception on third-and-goal, Mitch Trubisky hits Allen Robinson in the back of the end zone with a 7-yarder for the Bears’ first offensive TD of the game.

Saints 36, Bears 10: The Bears’ offense is finally moving, but it’s going to be far too little, too late in this one. They’re just padding stats now.

Saints 36, Bears 10: It’s just a straight up rout after Latavius Murray scores another touchdown.

Saints 29, Bears 10: What a catch by Michael Thomas, who hauls in a 34-yard catch despite double coverage. The Saints are over 400 total yards in the game now.

Saints 29, Bears 10: The Bears turn it over on downs with a fourth down play that stood little chance. They haven’t had a drive go for longer than 39 yards in this game.

Saints 29, Bears 10: A FIRST DOWN!! THEY RECORDED A FIRST DOWN! That’s the first time the Bears’ offense has move the chains in the second half.

Saints 29, Bears 10: The Saints settle for a 30-yard field goal from Wil Lutz, who bounces back from a couple of misses to hit the short kick.

Saints 26, Bears 10: A Latavius Murray touchdown run is called off for offensive holding. It’s wild to think that the Saints, despite their sizable lead, have left points on the table.

Third quarter: Saints 26, Bears 10

Saints 26, Bears 10: The Saints extend their lead with a Taysom Hill touchdown. Even the gadget QB is scoring. It’s started to get out of hand here.

Saints 19, Bears 10: Taysom Hill runs for 23 yards off an option pitch from the fullback in a bit of trickery from the Saints on a third-and-short. They’re back in field goal position with less than five minutes left in the quarter.

Saints 19, Bears 10: The boos are getting louder as the Bears’ offense continues to show no signs of life. This is ugly on that side of the ball.

Saints 19, Bears 10: The defense somehow holds up again and Wil Lutz misses a field goal attempt, so the Bears remain down nine despite the turnover. At some point the offense needs to do something, though.

Saints 19, Bears 10: On the Bears’ first offensive play of the half, David Montgomery fumbles and it’s recovered by the Saints for a painful turnover.

Saints 19, Bears 10: Sherrick McManis gets shaken up and leaves the game after the Saints kick it off.

Saints 19, Bears 10: Latavius Murray goes up the gut to give the Saints their second touchdown of the game. The Bears’ defense did not look great coming out of halftime there.

Saints 12, Bears 10: Ted Ginn Jr. somehow gets wide open for a 45-yard gain that puts the Saints inside the Bears’ 5.

Saints 12, Bears 10: Teddy Bridgewater uses his legs for another first down on the Saints’ drive to open the second half, then Latavius Murray goes for 18 yards right up the middle. These are moments when you can tell the team misses Akiem Hicks.

Halftime: Saints 12, Bears 10

Saints 12, Bears 10: Another three-and-out (yawn) but the Bears get a break when a Saints punt return touchdown by Deonte Harris is called back due to a holding call at the line of scrimmage.

Saints 12, Bears 10: The defense impressively responds with a quick series of stops to get the offense the ball back with enough time to potentially do something before the end of the half. Unfortunately the offense doesn’t generate much optimism at this point.

Saints 12, Bears 10: Some light boos rain down after another ugly three-and-out drive by the Bears’ offense. They’ve generated 76 yards on 26 plays so far in yet another dreadful first-half performance.

Saints 12, Bears 10: The Bears get a break as Wil Lutz misses wide left on a 42-yard field goal attempt. Lutz had been 13-of-14 on field goals entering Sunday.

Saints 12, Bears 10: It seemed like the Saints had a deep touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. but he ends up unable to corral the ball as Prince Amukamara hits him.

Saints 12, Bears 10: After a three-and-out by the Bears’ offense, Pat O’Donnell’s punt gets tipped by Zach Line but still travels to the Saints’ 33 before being downed by Sherrick McManis. Disaster avoided there but it’s not great when opponents get their hands on two punts in a game.

Saints 12, Bears 10: New Orleans drives into the red zone before stalling out and settling for a Wil Lutz 39-year-old field goal to complete a 12-play, 52-yard drive.

Bears 10, Saints 9: The crowd isn’t happy after the Saints convert a first down on a Teddy Bridgewater run that narrowly got the necessary yardage. Matt Nagy challenged the spot on the field, and FOX’s Mike Pereira said he was “shocked” the referees upheld the call on the field.

Bears 10, Saints 9: FIELD GOAL! A third-and-long leads to an incompletion – yet again targeting Allen Robinson – but Eddy Pineiro hits a 46-yard field goal to give the Bears their first lead of the afternoon.

Saints 9, Bears 7: The offense goes backwards on first down with the Saints’ first sack of the game, pushing them back to second-and-18 at the Saints’ 32.

Saints 9, Bears 7: Allen Robinson gets right back to it to open the second quarter with a first down off a slant route. He’s caught more passes (four) than the rest of the team combined so far.

First quarter: Saints 9, Bears 7

Saints 9, Bears 7: Allen Robinson almost comes down with a huge catch on the final play of the quarter, but the referee correctly rules him out because his second foot was out of bounds.

Saints 9, Bears 7: TOUCHDOWN! Cordarrelle Patterson shows why the Bears signed him last offseason by taking the kickoff 102 yards for his seventh career return touchdown. Absolute game-changing play for a team that needed a shot of energy.

Saints 9, Bears 0: New Orleans takes advantage of the short field provided by the fumble with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Josh Hill. Teddy Bridgewater is 5-of-7 for 51 yards and one touchdown so far.

Saints 2, Bears 0: The Bears’ offense goes from bad to worse as Allen Robinson fumbles after a short pass in their own territory. Initially called down on the field, a challenge by Sean Payton successfully overturned the call. Suddenly the Saints are in position to add to their lead.

Saints 2, Bears 0: A pair of penalties didn’t help the Saints’ offense but the Bears got them off the field again without any damage.

Saints 2, Bears 0: The Bears get the ball back and punt it away again after recording one first down. Mitch Trubisky missed an open man on third down that could’ve kept the chains moving. They’ve got three yards on three carries so far.

Saints 2, Bears 0: Yikes! The Bears’ offense goes three-and-out on its first drive, then Pat O’Donnell’s punt is blocked into the end zone. The punter made a smart decision to scramble after it and bat it out the back of the end zone, preventing a Saints touchdown, but that’s still a safety and an ugly start.

Bears 0, Saints 0: The Saints won the coin toss and deferred so the Bears will get the ball to open the game. We’ll get to see quickly how Mitch Trubisky looks after missing the last game.

Before the game

The Bears are back in town after their bye week to take on the Saints at home on Sunday afternoon. The return to Soldier Field will be welcomed after a disastrous trip to London two weeks ago ended with a 24-21 loss to the Raiders. Unfortunately, a New Orleans team riding high on a four-game winning streak may not make this any easier.

Even without Drew Brees in the lineup, the Saints have performed well in recent weeks with Teddy Bridgewater under center. The offense may not be as dangerous Sunday with running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Jared Cook sidelined by injuries, but Bridgewater, Michael Thomas and Latavius Murray still give the Saints weapons on that side of the ball.

And unlike in some past years where New Orleans relied on Brees to overcome shaky defense, the team is in the top half of the league in points allowed this year. Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport lead a strong group up front, and Marshon Lattimore anchors a talented young secondary.

So the Bears look to have their hands full Sunday, even with Mitch Trubisky set to return and the Saints missing several players. Chase Daniel’s inconsistent play a couple weeks ago showed why the Bears need to gamble on Trubisky’s upside, both this year and beyond. If he can get going like we saw in flashes last season, it’ll go a long way toward building some confidence at Halas Hall.

Bears vs. Saints, Week 7

Time: 3:25 p.m. CT

TV: FOX

Live stream: FOX Sports Live