Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
This week’s matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears is loaded with storylines. Regardless of the record of either team, emotions are sure to be high in a game that can go many directions.
From former head coaches matching up with new faces to the potential of old grudges resurfacing, this Week 7 matchup in the Windy City is jam-packed with intrigue.
Here are five things to know about the Bears and the interesting circumstances that have led to this highly-anticipated matchup.
Chicago’s defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen, was the Saints’ head coach.
Saints fans haven’t forgotten in such a short time, but this is a major part of this game’s interesting list of stories. After becoming the first Saints coach fired in-season in over four decades, Allen is now the leader of the Bears defense.
In just shy of a calendar year since that decision was made, Allen has a chance to get a win over the Saints and their second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler, whom Allen selected as the starter following injuries to former passer Derek Carr.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson was the first hiring of the 2025 coach carousel, Saints’ Kellen Moore was the last.
Johnson and Moore were each among the top offensive minds throughout the 2025 head coaching search. Johnson was the first to land a gig while Moore had a Super Bowl to win with the Philadelphia Eagles. Both coaches are now in the midst of their inaugural seasons leading a team.
The Bears have dramatically shifted their defensive approach.
Allen’s defense looked wildly different in Week 6 against the Washington Commanders versus what it looked like over the first four weeks. After a split of about 44% middle of field open (Cover 2 and Cover 4, for example) and 50% closed (middle of field safety coverages like Cover 1 and Cover 3), the Chicago defense went all-in on single-high safety looks. Against the Commanders, Chicago ran middle of the field closed coverages over 75% of defensive snaps.
Allen and the Bears also turned up the heat. After blitzing around 20.5% of the time Weeks 1-4 (No. 25 in the NFL), Chicago leapt to No. 4 in the league with a blitz rate of over 37% last week. It seems likely that trend will continue against the Saints and second-year passer Rattler.
Run defense has been Chicago’s biggest weakness.
The Bears had a strong week of run defense against the Commanders, dedicating most of their personnel resources to stopping the run. But even with that, they are still ranked No. 31 in the NFL in yards per rush allowed. Saints running back Kendre Miller may have a chip on his shoulder this weekend that could lead to a strong game alongside Alvin Kamara against one of the league’s weakest rushing defenses.
Quarterbacks Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams and running back Kendre Miller are among a storyline-packed matchup.
One of the biggest stories that will play itself out this week will be the battle between Rattler and Williams. The two were teammates at Oklahoma until the end of the 2021 season. During which time, Williams surpassed Rattler as the starting quarterback during the year’s Red River Showdown against the Texas Longhorns. Both would go on to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and will now go head-to-head on Sunday.
