The 4-2 New Orleans Saints will travel to the Windy City in Week 8 to take on the 5-2 Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
The Saints enter Week 8 on a three-game winning streak, with wins over the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Chargers and Carolina Panthers.
The Bears, meanwhile, are coming off a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football. Chicago looked awful on both sides of the ball.
The Saints are 5-0 against the Bears since 2011. They are favored to win in Chicago by the oddsmakers since the Bears are struggling on offense and the Saints have one of the better offenses in the league with Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara leading the way.
With the Saints-Bears game almost here, let's take a look at four bold predictions for the contest from a New Orleans perspective.
1. Drew Brees throws for two touchdowns
Drew Brees has thrown for 11 touchdowns on the season and only three picks. He's completing 72.6 percent of his passes and has thrown for 1,618 yards.
In seven career games against the Bears, Brees is 4-3. He's thrown for 13 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions. Even though Chicago has one of the better defenses in the NFL, some of the team's stars are banged up, most notably Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Eddie Jackson.
With that being said, look for Brees to throw two touchdowns against the Bears at Soldier Field. While it's unknown if star wideout Michael Thomas will play due to his hamstring injury, Brees should still be able to have his way against a Bears defense that is playing on a short week after getting smacked by the Rams on Monday Night Football.
2. Alvin Kamara scores one rushing touchdown, catches one as well
One of the more versatile players in the NFL, Alvin Kamara has rushed the ball 75 times this season for 364 yards and four touchdowns. He's also caught 46 balls for 460 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bears have a stout defense, but they do struggle to stop the run and tackle explosive players in the open field. With that being said, look for Kamara to score one rushing touchdown and catch a touchdown pass from Brees as well against the Bears.
During the 2017 season, when the Saints defeated the Bears by a final score of 20-12, Kamara scored one rushing touchdown on eight carries. He also caught three balls for 48 yards.
The Saints are so fortunate to have Kamara on the team. With Brees' arm strength decreasing year by year, the Saints' signal-caller is usually looking to check the ball down to Kamara and let the star do his thing in the open field with the ball in his hands. Look for that trend to continue against the Bears in Week 8.
3. Saints intercept Nick Foles at least once
Bears quarterback Nick Foles has thrown an interception in every game this season since taking over for Mitchell Trubisky in Week 3. He's thrown six touchdown passes and six picks for 1,139 yards while completing 64.1 percent of his passes.
The Bears have arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL. Foles rarely has ample time to throw the ball, which is why he's thrown six picks in five games.
With that being said, look for the Saints to intercept Foles at least once. The Bears could be without two starters in this game in center Cody Whitehair and WR Allen Robinson. Foles could be under a lot of pressure from the Saints and will likely get sacked a few times along with turning the ball over.
4. Saints defeat Bears to improve to 5-2
Even though it's going to be cold in Chicago, the Saints should win this game to improve to 5-2 on the season. They have the better head coach and offense and are facing a Bears team that is just not on the same page on offense at the moment.
Plus, if Robinson is out, who is Foles going to throw the ball to? The Bears don't have any other explosive playmakers on offense without Robinson and their run game is atrocious due to their putrid offensive line.
While Chicago's defense is really good, they will likely be on the field too much since the Bears' offense is putrid. Saints head coach Sean Payton will likely use a quick-tempo offense against Mack and Co. to tire the Bears out even more.
Chicago may be 5-2, but the only good team they have defeated is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints should easily win this game by 10 or more points and keep pace with the Buccaneers in the NFC South division.
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