NEW ORLEANS — The Saints at Chicago, Sunday. Look, to me, maybe the single most fun thing to watch in this early season run for the Saints is how Sean Payton has tweaked and really reinvented the offense on a nearly weekly basis without Drew Brees, and he is going to be tested in a major way in Chicago.
Of course, the Bears have one of the NFL's best defense with Khalil Mack and company, but Payton has been able to do amazing things without Drew Brees — and we asked him about it on Friday before the Saints go to Chicago. He said when they were in Seattle, for instance, before the first game without Drew Brees, they went back and looked at every pass Teddy Bridgewater threw in 2015 both the good and the bad to make sure they had a clear idea of what he could do and what maybe they didn't want him to do before game planning for how to attack that week.
What Payton has done so far through the 4-0 stretch has been brilliant. He has to do this week without Alvin Kamara, without Jared Cook, and of course still without Drew Brees against a terrific Bears defense, so that is obviously, to me, the thing to watch Sunday.
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The thing that is gonna be so interesting, Latavius Murray got his most touches in Jacksonville, and you can see what he does well. He is a no nonsense kind of runner. He is a north-and-south guy. He doesn't have the move in his game that Alvin Kamara does. He's gonna go right at people he'll be interesting to watch.
I'll expect to see a lot more Dwayne Washington. Certainly, we haven't seen him yet, but he played well last year when called upon.
I think if the saints can score a few points, the way their defense is played, I think they've got a great shot to win on Sunday, but to me how Sean Payton is able to reinvent the offense Sunday is gonna be really fun to watch.
Saints and Bears 3:25 p.m. Sunday.