By the time the Saints retreated to the warmth of their locker room at Soldier Field late Thursday night, the playoffs seemed as difficult to imagine as a balmy summer day.
Just being in the hunt for a playoff spot with four games to go was a victory for New Orleans. This team had much working against it besides the wind, the temperatures and a hungry, angry pack of Bears even though Drew Brees engineered a second-half comeback before the Bears won 27-24 in overtime.
But the Saints quarterback was not his usual crisp self — and without Brees picking apart an opponent, the Saints have no chance. Brees is the Saints, which tells you all you need to know about what happened at Soldier Field.
Before the game the Saints steadfastly denied the weather would be a factor. Whether or not Brees was cold, the MVP candidate definitely was not hot. In fact, it was one of his most uneven performances of the season.
Bears defenders touched four of his first 10 passes, including a Mike Brown interception. In the first half, he had a 49.5 passer rating and completed only 41 percent of his passes.
When he threw a third-quarter pass directly into the arms of Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who was charging straight at him and couldn’t have been more than 5 feet away, Brees had to know it was not going to be one of his better days. The Saints had just converted a fourth-and-1 and had a fresh set of downs on the Bears 9.
Brees’ offensive line didn’t do much to help. The team was forced to play with a backup at left tackle as Jammal Brown missed the game with injury. The Bears took advantage in the second quarter when right end Alex Brown blew past fill-in Zach Strief for a sack. Brown would have had an earlier sack if not for a defensive holding penalty on Corey Graham.
The Saints offense returned to its passing roots despite the cold weather. Coach Sean Payton has been criticized for passing too much, but he doesn’t let it bother him.
Asked about his philosophy, Payton said, “What’s most important is: Are we scoring? Forget the passing numbers for a minute. Are we scoring? Are we converting third downs? Are we efficient in the red zone?
“Currently we are No. 1 in total offense and in the top three in scoring. What’s most important is winning games and scoring points. We have a quarterback that if we need to do it passing, we’re very comfortable doing it that way.”
Their short week was made shorter because offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Doug Marrone was negotiating with Syracuse for its head coaching job. ESPN reported Thursday he took the job. If the situation distracted Marrone and detracted from the Saints’ offensive effort, it would have been understandable. Or even expected.
The Saints were under the impression Monday that Syracuse would hire someone else, but things obviously changed as the week went on.
The Saints also fielded a compromised defense, which the Bears exploited by trying to go deep. The Saints were without their top three cornerbacks, as well starting safety Kevin Kaesviharn and defensive end Charles Grant.
The Bears targeted cornerback Jason David with success when Devin Hester ran a post route in the second quarter. Hester couldn’t catch Kyle Orton’s throw, but he did induce David to interfere with him. The result was a 39-yard penalty that set up a 1-yard Matt Forte touchdown run.
The Saints will be a better team in 2009, assuming they are healthier. To be as good as they will need to be, however, they will need to beat a team like the Bears on the road on a day that makes teeth chatter.
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dpompei@tribune.com
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