The Chicago Bears were eliminated from the 2021 NFL Playoffs with a 21-9 loss to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, January 10, on the road.
“In all three phases for us, we just did not put it together,” said Bears head coach Matt Nagy via ChicagoBears.com, “and we know that we’ve got to be better and we’ve got to score more points.”
According to ChicagoBears.com, the Bears defense continued to struggle in two key areas Sunday, allowing the Saints to convert 11-of-17 third-down plays (65 percent) and score three touchdowns on four red-zone possessions (75 percent).
The Bears also had several opportunities to impact the outcome of the game offensively but left several big plays on the field. The biggest play came on a Javon Wims dropped TD pass in the end zone in the first quarter. The play nearly tied the game at 7.
“I’d be sitting here lying to you if I told you it didn’t hurt,” Nagy said via ChicagoBears.com.
“That hurt. Against a team like this, when there’s an opportunity to make [a play], you have to make that play, and Javon knows that.”
Although the Bears left several big plays on the field, quarterback Mitchell Trubisky finished with 1 TD, 199 passing yards on 19-of-29 passing attempts. This was good enough for a 96.8 passing rating for the game.
Quarterback Drew Brees outplayed Trubisky throwing for 265 passing yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s win.
Final Score: Saints 21, Bears 9.
With the loss, the Bears were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs.
Chicago Crusader Players of The Game:
Mitchell Trubisky, Bears, 199 passing yards, 1 TD on 19-of-29 passing attempts.
Bears defense forced one fumble during Sunday’s game.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].