NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Drew Brees must have been pretty happy to hear the list of active players for the New Orleans Saints (13-4) this week.
Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, and Deonte Harris all returned to the lineup. All three of them turned out stellar performances in a 21-10 win over the Chicago Bears (8-9) to move on to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs.
Thomas has struggled with a high ankle sprain all year and was placed on the injured reserve list in December in an attempt to get him healthy for the playoffs. As Thomas returned in his all-pro form, that move paid off, finishing with 5 receptions, 73 yards, and 1 touchdown, his first of the season.
Harris was also placed on IR in December while dealing with a neck injury. He returned to turn in his best statistical performance of the year. His 7 receptions and 83 yards were season-high totals for him, and led the team.
Kamara returned from the COVID-19 list for the first time since his record-tying 6 touchdown performance against the Vikings. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, he was unable to practice with the team leading up to the game. However, the time off did not slow down his production, as he gained 99 yards on 23 carries and added a touchdown of his own.
Saints defense keeps Bears offense contained
Mitch Trubisky showed great touch on some of his passes, completing 19 for 199 yards and added a late TD pass to Jimmy Graham.
However, the Saints defense kept the Bears offense contained. Outside of 2 catches by Allen Robinson and Jovon Wims, the Bears failed to complete a pass over 20 yards. That seemed to be by design, as the Saints used deeper zone coverages to force Trubisky into underneath throws.
A crucial drop by Jovon Wims in the end zone cost the Bears what would have been a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The Bears offense struggled to put together drives as all of their stars were kept in check. Jimmy Graham caught his only two passes in the final drive when the game was all but decided. He made his one-handed touchdown grab as time expired.
Brees, Saints offense dangerous moving forward
Brees finished 28-39 with 265 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ten different receivers caught at least one pass as the offense put together a convincing performance through the air.
Adding back 3 top targets to this offense in Kamara, Thomas and Harris will only make them more dangerous as they move on in the NFL Playoffs.
Nickelodeon adds a family-fun element to playoff football
With Sunday afternoon’s game broadcasted both on CBS and its affiliate Nickelodeon, the popular children’s network. The broadcast included unique special effects added to the game, including computer-generated slime cannons that went off when either team scored a touchdown and a face of Spongebob Squarepants digitally-imposed on the field goal nets.
The Nickelodeon audience voted Mitch Trubisky the game’s NVP or Nickelodeon’s Valuable Player. And after the postgame presser, head coach Sean Payton had slime poured on him by the Nickelodeon team.
UP NEXT
New Orleans will host Tampa Bay in the NFL Divisional Round Sunday, January 17.
