CHICAGO — The New Orleans Saints used a stellar effort from both the offensive and defensive lines to defeat the Chicago Bears 36-25 Sunday for the team's fifth win in a row.
The victory pushed the Saints to 6-1 on the season. They are one and a half games ahead of the Carolina Panthers in the NFC South as Carolina had its bye week.
How dominant was the Saints defense? The Bears' first 10 points came on a kickoff return for a score and a field goal. The other two scores came after the game was decided.
"We won the battle up front," said head coach Sean Payton. "You win that and you'll win most of the games."
The Saints held the Bears to just over 200 total yards, with a lot of that total coming on Chicago's meaningless final scoring drives when the game was already well decided.
Meanwhile Teddy Bridgewater remained steady, not turning the ball over and completing 23 of 38 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.
"We knew how tough their defense was. We heard about it all week," said Bridgewater. "This team knows how to survive."
Latavius Murray was also a force in the backfield with 25 carries for 113 yards. He scored two touchdowns.
Michael Thomas caught 9 passes for 131 yards.
Payton said that the team that has won five straight since they loss a game and Drew Brees in Los Angeles, is playing well.
"We're trying to improve each week," he said. "We feel like there's a lot more out there. They're playing with a lot of confidence right now."