Saints-Bears: Did Anyone Else Have a Heart Attack?

Wow, what a game, so many highs and lows. I was at the edge of my seat almost all night.

There seems to be one snapshot from last night's game to reverberate around the NFL. What is it you ask? Well it is not Devin Hester returning the opening kick off for the TD, but his replacement Danieal Manning.

To start on a good note, Danieal Manning, again, gave the Bears a spark on the opening play of the game. Last week against the Jags, it was an interception on the first offensive play and the kick return 83 yards last night.

I have to say, though, the tone was set early last night, even before kickoff. Jamie O'Neal opened the game with one of the best renditions of the National Anthem I have ever heard.

It was so good, it stirred up the crowd and I felt like strapping up and getting on that field.

The game became a back-and-forth defensive battle, with many highs and lows, but the Bears prevailed this time, with Robbie Gould kicking the Bears into overtime and then to a win. Bears over Saints, 27-24.

Game Ball

Devin Hester was the man of the hour last night, and he did not even have to catch the ball. Hester did have four receptions for 46 yards, but it was the ones he did not catch that made the difference.

How? Well he was able to beat the Saints secondary deep so many times that they had to tackle him before the ball got to him.

Therefore, Hester racked up 77 yards in pass interference yards and set up a Matt Forte 1-yard run, then the game winner in overtime.

I also can’t say enough about Danieal Manning; who had another great performance. He racked up 175 yards in kickoff returns and one touchdown.

Concerns

Granted, the Bears did not play as conservatively as the do when they get the lead, but they still managed to give up 17 unanswered points again.

My questions are:

• Why is Rashied Davis still playing for the Bears?
• Why is Adrian Peterson still playing for Chicago?

“Offensively, we stalled there for a while,” said coach Lovie Smith. “But at the end, we needed to put together a couple drives, and our offense answered the call.”

Neither of these players has ever done anything worth keeping a roster spot and I think they proved it last night. Peterson missed a third-down reception and then on the next play dropped the fake punt pass.

Now I do not know why Forte was not in on the third down play to catch the ball, but I can only wonder.

As for Davis, he dropped a key third-down pass that hit him right in the hands and then was picked off by the Saints. That play, in my opinion, was responsible for Orton’s mistakes down the stretch.

What to watch for

Chicago is now 8-6. All they can do is wait to see what Minnesota does the next three games. If the Bears win out and Minnesota loses two of three, Chicago wins the North.

Also, keep an eye on Matt Forte, who was injured on the first run play of the game. He did return in the second half from his toe injury.

"It just feels great," Orton said after the win. "I thought we might have let one slip away and then to come back and get a big win in overtime...We've been in the playoffs now for us basically the last two weeks and are 2-0, so it's win or go home, basically. We lived to fight another day."

STATS

Chicago: QB Kyle Orton 24/40 172 yards, 2 INTs. RB Matt Forte 11 carries for 63 total yards and 1 TD. TE Greg Olsen 8 catches for 45 yards. DE Adewale Ogunleye recorded 5 tackles and 1 INT.

Saints: QB Drew Brees 24/43 232 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs. RB Pierre Thomas 146 total yards and 2 TDs. WR Marques Colston 6 receptions 84 yards and 1 TD. LB Scott Fujita 7 tackles and 1 INT.

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