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The city of Chicago hasn’t been a kind place to the New Orleans Saints over the years.
That’s why Sunday’s 26-18 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field to improve to 5-0 may have been particularly sweet to the Saints and their fans, especially given the team’s struggles in its previous three trips there – notably the 2006 NFC Championship Game.
Entering Sunday’s contest at Soldier Field, the Saints hadn’t won in the Windy City since the year 2000 (the team’s road victory against Chicago in 2002 came at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium in Champaign because of renovations to Soldier Field).
Beginning with the 2006 NFC title game – which the Saints had trailed only 16-14 as late as the third quarter – New Orleans had lost three straight games in Chicago in as many seasons.
The Saints, of course, denied that Sunday’s game was any sort of a grudge match or “revenge” game, and it’s hard to argue with that.
For one thing, any revenge the Saints may have been seeking against the Bears would have come to fruition in Week 2 of the 2011 regular season when New Orleans trounced Chicago, 30-13, in the Mercedes Benz Superdome, or better yet, in the team’s ability to do something the Bears could not do: win a Super Bowl against Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts.
But Saints players and coach Sean Payton didn’t deny that winning in Chicago was a great accomplishment, even if Payton said there wasn’t anything overly special or extra about it.
The only thing “extra” about it, at least from Payton’s stance, was the number of tickets sold.
Otherwise, “It was Game 5,” Payton said.
Some Saints players may have had a different viewpoint.
Quarterback Drew Brees turned in another solid effort, throwing for 288 yards on 29-of-35 passing for two touchdowns and no turnovers. Tight end Jimmy Graham had 10 catches for 135 yards as the Saints amassed a workmanlike 354 total yards in the victory.
It was almost 100 yards less than what the Bears amassed (some of which came late in the game), but New Orleans controlled the clock, holding onto the ball an even 12 minutes longer than Chicago.
For Brees, it was the quarterback’s first ever victory in Chicago after going winless there in four attempts previously – three with the Saints and one with San Diego in 2003.
Brees said it was about time the Saints got a win in Chicago.
“We’ve come up here quite a few times in some big games: ’06, ’07, ’08,” Brees said. “Unfortunately, we were never able to walk away with a victory. In three consecutive years, we’ve been waiting for that opportunity to come back.”
Brees said that winning in Chicago was no easy task because of the type of teams the Bears have historically featured that are built around strong defenses.
“It’s a great defense,” Brees said. “It’s been a great defense for a long time. It’s as consistent a defense as there is. We know what their formula is for winning. It’s taking the ball away, giving their offense opportunities, and making you try to be impatient.
“We knew the formula coming into the game was to remain patient, run the football effectively, be very efficient in the passing game and take care of the football. We were able to do all of those things (Sunday). That’s a big reason why we won – that and our defense.”
For Saints running back Pierre Thomas, Sunday’s game was a homecoming.
Thomas was born in Chicago and spent four years at the University of Illinois before signing with the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2007.
Thomas had only 36 yards rushing on 19 carries in Sunday’s victory, but added 55 receiving yards and two touchdowns on nine catches, both coming in the second quarter to help the Saints build a 20-7 lead just before halftime.
Home sweet home, indeed.
“This is (being) back home for me,” Thomas said. “When I’m back here, I think about friends, family, teachers, coaches and people who helped me get where I am now. When I step on that field, it’s like, ‘Hey man, you’re doing it all for them, so go out here and perform the way you can and sell out for your people.’ That’s what I did.”
What the Saints as a team did was control game from the start, never trailing at any point in the contest and making Chicago’s home crowd a non-factor.
Payton called it a hard-fought victory.
“I thought our guys played real smart and we did what we needed to do here to get a good road victory,” he said. “It wasn’t always perfect or clean in the second half, but it was good enough and we played well.”
A perfect game it was not. The Saints’ record, however, still is.
New Orleans Saints running back Pierre Thomas (23) rushes against Chicago Bears outside linebacker James Anderson (50) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013, in Chicago.
