How we graded the Chicago Bears in their win over New Orleans
It was not a pretty one.
The Chicago Bears gutted out a 26-14 win over the Saints. No one deserved an A on this afternoon.
Here's how we graded the Bears' in their Sunday win over the Saints to make it four wins in a row.
The Bears’ defense
This started so well.
The Bears had the Saints just tied down. The defense looked like it was one step ahead of Spencer Rattler. They forced a fumble and grabbed two interceptions.
But, the tide turned during the middle-eight mark.
The Bears’ offense stumbled, and the Saints used a 58-yard gain to Chris Olave to get into the end zone. New Orleans followed that up with a touchdown right out of the gate to start the second half.
The Bears were on their heels and had to find some juice.
To the Bears’ credit, they found some. Dennis Allen dialed up blitzes that resulted in sacks. They had some juice in the fourth to seal the win, including a Tremaine Edmunds interception.
Grade: C+
The Bears’ offense
The Bears weren’t reinventing the air raid, but they were moving the ball.
Sitting with a 20-0 lead, the Bears could have gotten aggressive. Instead, they went three and out. After that, the offense was never really the same as it was in the first half.
The passing game was in a funk all day. The Bears will answer for it after the game, but during the game, it looked disjointed.
It almost cost the Bears the game. The defense had some plays left to keep the Saints at bay, but the offense needed to be better against a team that’s struggled to defend team that have offenses that are worse off than the Bears.
Grade: D
Caleb Williams
It wasn’t a great day for Williams.
After he passed for over 200 yards and led the Bears to a win over the Commanders on Monday Night Football, he struggled to see the field well on Sunday.
Williams struggled to locate his reads. He held on to the football way too long. He was able to escape some sacks, but took a sack on third and long at the start of the fourth quarter. That gave the Saints a chance to get back on the board.
Even when Williams escaped some sacks, he opted to throw difficult passes than scramble for yards to make it second or third and short instead of a longer yard line to gain.
He also struggled to get throws where they needed to be. Williams redirected Luther Burden III on a scramble drill, but skipped the ball when Burden was open near the sidelines.
It’s a day Williams wishes he could have back.
Grade: D
Jaquan Brisker
Dennis Allen’s plan for Brisker was an aggressive one. He sent Brisker after Rattler all day, and that kept the second-year quarterback on his toes.
Brisker had a sack, two quarterback hits and a tackle for loss on a day where he was flying around the field.
He should have had another sack, too. But, Brisker was flagged for roughing the passer after hitting Rattler too high.
It was still a fantastic day for one of the Bears’ best defenders.
Grade: B+
D’Andre Swift
Swift followed up his breakout game against Washington with another solid day.
He wasn’t breaking massive touchdown runs, but he was consistent in the running game. This made sure the Bears didn’t become one-dimensional.
He averaged over five yards per carry on Sunday and paced the Bears’ offense. The running game is emerging with Swift as the lead back. That’s what Ben Johnson wanted. It’s also what Ben Johnson needed.
The Bears can depend on Swift.
Grade: B+
Theo Benedet
After showing the Bears he can be the starting left tackle for the rest of the 2025 season, Benedet had an iffy game vs. New Orleans.
Twice, he had false start penalties that took the Bears from five yards to gain for a first down to 10 yards to gain. He made up for it in the running game, blocking for Swift’s solid day.
Still, penalties are hard to forgive for a team that can’t afford many mistakes on offense as it is.
Grade: C