Chicago Bears: 5 Top Plays from Week 2 Against the New Orleans Saints

Things weren’t so simple down in the Big Easy for the Chicago Bears Sunday. The Bears (1-1) faced a well-rested, well-prepared New Orleans Saints (1-1) squad ready to defend their home turf in the Superdome for the first time in 2011.

The name of the game was quarterback pressure. It was as simple as this: The Bears created little pressure on Drew Brees while the Saints created havoc for Jay Cutler.

Despite being sacked only six times and completing 19-of-45 for 244 yards and a touchdown, Cutler only turned the ball over once, on a blind-side sack which led to a fumble. He threw no interceptions and showed faith in his arm to keep the Bears within a long shot of New Orleans.

Plenty went wrong for the Bears in this game. Specifically, the offensive line protection and dedication to the running game were offensive concerns. Defensive woes were obvious as well when Brees was able to connect with Devery Henderson on a 79-yard score in which both safeties were beat and badly. Injuries exposed the team’s depth problems as well.

With every negative thing that came from Sunday’s Week 2 contest, there were some things that showed improvement and reason for optimism.

Here are the top five plays from this weekend’s Bears-Saints game for Chicago.

5. Charles Tillman Forced Fumble on Mark Ingram (4th Quarter)

Charles “Peanut” Tillman has made a living out of his signature ball-punch technique. While this particular play didn’t require such action, Tillman was able to swat the pigskin loose from Mark Ingram’s grasp late in the fourth quarter when the game seemed to be all but over.

What makes this play relevant is that it showed the Bears did not throw in the towel and were trying until the very end. The turnover gave Chicago the ball inside their 10-yard line.

The Bears eventually went three-and-out, punting away possession.

This was the lonesome takeaway the defense caused in Week 2.

4. Jay Cutler 18-Yard Gain to Matt Forte for First Down (1st Quarter)

Matt Forte said it best after the Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. If teams don’t know he’s capable of hurting you rushing and receiving the football, they’re obviously not paying attention.

Forte was the Bears leading receiver against the Saints, hauling in 10 balls for 117 yards.

Perhaps his biggest catch of the day was this play on 2nd-and-14 from midfield that put Chicago comfortably into Saints territory.

Plenty more on this drive led to the first points of the game to come.

3. Mark Ingram Stopped on 3rd and 1 (2nd Quarter)

Tim Jennings made a huge stop for the Chicago defense midway through the second quarter when Mark Ingram had 3rd-and-short from the Bears 9-yard line. Ingram was met by Jennings along with other members of the defense and dropped for a two yard loss.

This play led to a John Kasay 29-yard field goal instead of keeping the touchdown drive alive for the Saints.

This defensive stop kept the score very close, as the Saints went up 13-7. Had the possession stayed alive, New Orleans could have made it 17-7 approximately six minutes before the half.

Chicago failed to make many big stops aside from this one, however, which ultimately ended in defeat.

2. Matt Forte 42-Yard Run (1st Quarter)

Forte had a big catch on this very drive with Top Play No. 4, but this first play of the drive set up a scoring chance for the Bears.

On first down from the New Orleans 45-yard line, Forte exploded through the defense for 42 yards. This big gallop put the Bears well into Saints territory and proved to be critical in helping Chicago strike first blood.

Forte would experience little opportunity to repeat a run of this significance for the rest of the game. He ended the day with 10 rushes for 49 yards. Chicago went with an aerial assault in the second half, handing the ball to Forte just one time in the final 30 minutes.

1. Jay Cutler 8-Yard TD Pass to Dane Sanzenbacher (1st Quarter)

Not only is this the best play because it was the only Chicago touchdown of the afternoon, but it shows that Dane Sanzenbacher may be a critical resource for the Bears at wide receiver.

Coming into the game, Roy Williams was ruled out with injury. Chicago saw Cutler’s former college wideout Earl Bennett go down in the first half with an injury and not return. Sanzenbacher stepped up and rose to the occasion when his number was called.

Not only at receiver, but all across the board, the Bears were bit by the injury bug. How these banged-up players will hurt Chicago is unclear so early in the year. One thing to take from this, however, is that Sanzenbacher is a viable weapon in a pass-happy offense at the NFL level.

Brett Lyons is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials.

Follow Brett Lyons on Twitter @BrettLyons670.