Saints 2023 Week 9 Preview

Jason Watson Jr • November 3, 2023

Bears head to the Bayou for Battle with Saints


What a difference can a week make? New Orleans has suddenly found themselves tied for first place in the NFC South division with hated rival Atlanta after a 38-27 win against the Colts. The Saints are now 4-4 and will look to move above .500 with a home date versus “da” Bears next on slate. Chicago is coming off a 30-13 loss to the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.


The Matchup:

The Saints scored their highest point total of the season against the Indianapolis Colts by putting up 38, a hopeful sign of good things to come. The Bears wound up on the opposite side of the spectrum last week. After defeating the Raiders 30-12, the Los Angeles Chargers flipped the script and downed Chicago 30-13. One team will seek continued success while the other attempts to preserve their season. This week's matchup will be broadcast live from the Caesars Superdome on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at noon CST on CBS.


Series History:

New Orleans leads Chicago all-time with a record of 18-15. Although the wins and losses nearly split, the Saints have been victorious in the past seven contests. The most recent game between the NFC foes came in the 2021 postseason when New Orleans defeated the Bears in the wildcard round 21-9. Chicago has a playoff victory of their own against New Orleans. They bested the Saints 39-14 in New Orleans’ first trip to the NFC Championship game in 2007.


Team Rankings Comparison:

Rank (Week 8) Saints Bears
Record 4-4 (2nd NFC South) 2-6 (4th NFC North)
Scoring Avg. 21.4 (18) 21.4 (17)
Opp. Scoring Avg. 19.3 (9) 27.3 (28)
Total Off. 349.1 (12) 320.6 (19)
Rushing Off. 106.0 (20) 132.8 (6)
Passing Off. 243.1 (9) 187.9 (26)
Total Def. 296.4 (5) 341.0 (23)
Rushing Def. 106.9 (15) 78.8 (3)
Passing Def. 189.5 (7) 262.3 (30)
Turnover Margin +3 (9) -4 (25)
Penalties 54 (3) 52 (9)
Penalty Yards 513 (1) 439 (7)


Current Injury Report:


Saints-

Demario Davis, OLB, Probable, Knee

James Hurst, G, Questionable, Ankle

Taysom Hill, QB, Questionable, Hip

Lynn Bowden Jr., WR, Questionable, Illness

Michael Thomas, WR, Questionable, Illness

Andrus Peat, G, Questionable, Ankle



Bears-

Nate Davis, G, Questionable, Ankle

Justin Fields, QB, Questionable, Thumb

Terrell Smith, CB, Questionable, Illness

Jaquan Brisker, S, Questionable, Concussion

Tremaine Edmunds, LB, Questionable, Knee

Braxton Jones, T, Questionable, Neck



Final Thoughts/Prediction:

Don’t look now, but New Orleans may be in the driver’s seat for the divisional title. Atlanta has benched starting QB Desmond Ridder and has not touched on any timeline for him to return to first-team reps. The Saints should pick up a win in week nine against Chicago, but they seem to like making things worse than they should be. In week 10, Minnesota will now be without Kirk Cousins, so that will play in favor of the Saints. Going into the bye week, New Orleans should be 6-4. A weak Bears squad will have a tough go at things in a rowdy dome. I think the Saints have their best overall performance of the season in this game, 36-17 New Orleans.




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By Kaden Arkeder August 19, 2026
Well, it’s official. Jordyn Tyson is expected to miss two months due to his hamstring injury he suffered during practice. What a major blow to the team and fans who have been eager to see his talent out on the field. We’ll all have to wait a while longer before we Jordyn Tyson in a game. Unfortunately you cannot say this news comes as surprise. It was well known and documented Jordyn Tyson had quite the injury history throughout his collegiate career. The Saints were hoping he’d be able to leave those injuries in the past by slow playing his recovery during the offseason and give him a slow build up. But ultimately the plan did not work and now the Saints have to begin the season without their presumed number two receiver. With Tyson being out the Saints will have to piece together his absence with the other young wide receivers who have been standing out during camp and preseason. Guys like Bryce Lance, Barion Brown, and possibly even Bub Means could help fill the void although they wouldn’t be able to completely replace Jordyn Tyson’s talent and the attention he would demand to make Olave’s job easier. When players of this stature go down it’s never one player having to pick up the slack, it’s on everyone in the huddle to take on a little extra to cover up the loss. Another caveat of the Tyson injury now is the added importance of Chris Olave himself being able to stay healthy in the absence of Jordyn Tyson. Olave himself has had his fair share of injury history and ultimately was unable to play a full season until last year although it did end on a scary note with the blood clot. The Saints can survive if one of the two are out at a time but I don’t know if they would be able to overcome if both were out given the lack of experience behind them. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that and Olave and company can hold down the fort just fine until Tyson is ready to make his debut. We will all just have to continue anxiously waiting for that moment, hopefully the Saints can make it a little easier on us by winning in the meantime.
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