Halas Intrigue Bears Report: Previewing Week 7 vs. Saints

The good: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky will need a shoulder harness, and he’ll be in pain, but he is expected to return Sunday after a dislocated left shoulder forced him out of the loss to the Raiders in London.

The bad: The Saints are 4-0 with Teddy Bridgewater starting for injured Drew Brees at quarterback.

The ugly: Bears left tackle Charles Leno has been called for eight penalties, second most among NFL offensive linemen behind Broncos guard Ronald Leary (nine).

Let’s get to it ...

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Offense: Run, Mitch, Run!

QB Mitch Trubisky has fewer rushing yards in four games (21) than he averaged per game last season (30.1). And he is still feeling the effects of a dislocated left shoulder suffered on Sept. 29. But should he run against the Saints and risk injury? Saints coach Sean Payton is expecting just that.

Did you know?

• Before departing the Vikings game on Sept. 29, QB Mitch Trubisky tied Billy Wade as the third-fastest Bear to reach 6,000 career passing yards (30 games).
• WR Allen Robinson II has caught at least one pass in all 61 career games, tied for fourth-most to start a career among active players.
• A Bears victory would snap a four-game losing streak to the Saints and match the best start to a season (4-2) since 2013.
• Kyle Long’s season — and maybe his career with the Bears — came to an end when the team placed him on injured reserve.

Defense: ‘D’ Goes on the Defensive

From defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano to many veteran players, the phrase was repeated almost as if being read from a script. That ugly showing in a 24-21 loss to the Raiders “was not us.”

Did you know?

• LB Khalil Mack leads the Bears with 4.5 sacks this season and 53.5 since the start of 2015, tied for the second-most in the NFL with the Rams’ Aaron Donald and behind the Cardinals’ Chandler Jones (58.0).
• Mack has four forced fumbles this season, which is tied for the league lead with the Texans’ Whitney Mercilus. Mack’s 18 forced fumbles since the start of 2015 is also a league best.
• Defensively, the Bears rank third in the NFL for fewest points allowed per game (13.8) and are tied for third in TO margin (+6) and fumble recoveries (6).

Special Teams: Eddy Pineiro gets ready for fall

With a warm September giving way to cooler temperatures this month, Eddy Pineiro will practice at Soldier Field on Friday to get acclimated to the changing conditions, Bears special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor said Thursday. Fans will remember that Cody Parkey didn’t start practicing at the stadium last season until he began struggling on game days.

Did you know?

• Pineiro, who wasn’t listed on this week’s injury report, also appears on track to take over the Bears’ kickoff duties again soon. Punter Pat O’Donnell has filled that role since Week 3 while the kicker deals with a pinched nerve in his knee.
• Only three NFL kickers have been perfect on multiple attempts from 50-plus yards this season: The Rams’ Greg Zuerlein, Bucs’ Matt Gay and Pineiro.

What They’re Saying

• Saints running back Alvin Kamara (knee, ankle) and tight end Jared Cook (knee) both missed Thursday’s practice because of injuries. Quarterback Drew Brees also remains sidelined as he works back from a thumb injury.
• Saints coach Sean Payton says he expects full-time referees to be the norm in the NFL soon: “Ultimately, we’re going to be at some point dealing with full-time officials. I don’t know that half of our fans even realize most of these guys aren’t even full time. I think the game is sped up so much now and we got better angles of it all. Shoot, the video angles of each play ... the fans are more educated, so I think we’re headed in that direction.”

From Our Notebooks

• Our team of experts — still smarting from a bad thumping in the Raiders game — make their picks for the Saints game.
• Bears coach Matt Nagy is 4-1 in his career after a loss, including 1-0 this season.
• The Bears and the Saints are meeting for the 31st time, with the series tied at 15-15. The Saints have won the last four, including a 20-12 victory in New Orleans in 2017 and 31-15 in 2014 in Chicago.

What’s Next?

With the bye week finally out of the way, the Bears play host to the New Orleans Saints on Oct. 20 at Soldier Field. It’s another 3:25 p.m. kickoff. The Saints are making their first trip to Soldier Field since a 2014 Monday Night Football game.

On the Podcast

In the latest edition of Halas Intrigue, the hosts debate whether Trubisky should play and how much he should run if he does.

Also, got any questions for the Bears? Email us or tweet at @suntimes_sports and we’ll see if we can get them answered in one of our next newsletters.

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