Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints Matchup Preview (1/10/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

The middle game on Sunday of the Wild Card round of the playoffs features the #7 Chicago Bears and the #2 New Orleans Saints. These two teams already played earlier this season in a game that went to overtime. The Saints ended up knocking off the Bears on the road in week 8 with a game-winning field goal. That was the second game in a six-game losing streak, which set them back significantly after starting the season 5-1. As the higher seed, the Saints are favored to win and are also on a two-game win streak to add momentum into the game. On the other side, the Bears got blasted by the Packers in the final game of the regular season, but a clutch three-game win streak right before that got them a spot in the playoffs. Since the playoff bracket is always determined by the top-seeded team playing the bottom-seeded team, there is no certainty on who each team will play with a win. If there were to be no upsets with the Saints winning this game, they would go on to play the #3 Seahawks, but if there were no upsets in the other games with the Bears winning, they would play the #1 Packers. All divisional-round games will be determined by which seeds win. For odds movement and full matchup history, visit the Chicago Bears vs. New Orleans Saints matchup page.

TV Schedule

Date: Sunday, January 10th, 2021
Time: 4:40 PM ET
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans, Louisiana
TV Coverage: CBS

Bears vs. Saints Live Stream

Where can you watch Bears vs. Saints online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Bears vs. Saints Free Online Now.

Injuries:

Chicago Bears: B. Massie (knee) IR, R. Smith (elbow) Q, D. Mooney (ankle) Q, D. Bush (out), D. Skrine (out), J. Jackson (shoulder) O
New Orleans Saints: A. Kamara (COVID-19) Q, L. Murray (COVID-19) Q, D. Washington (COVID-19) Q, M. Burton (COVID-19) Q, D. Swearinger (COVID-19) Q, M. Williams (out), J. Hill (out)

Chicago Bears Analysis

Bears’ fans have gotten a bumpy road through the regular season with a 5-1 start to be 5-7 during the midseason to finishing 8-8 with a squeezed out playoff spot over the Arizona Cardinals. But they are here now and have a challenge against the Saints, who have looked really good recently but have some COVID-19 concerns that could play a significant role this week. The Bears faced off with the Saints earlier this season with Nick Foles under center. He threw for 272 yards with two touchdowns while Montgomery ran for 89 yards. Now they have Mitch Trusbisky running the offense once again, and it has shown some success against the Texans, Vikings, and Jaguars. But the thing is that it failed against the Packers twice and against the Lions. There is no way for certain to know which Bears’ offense you will get, and so far, they have shown to crumble against strong defenses while showing life against weaker ones. If they get a full-strength Saints on Sunday, they will need to step up offensively.

Mitch Trubisky will need to play out of his mind. He has three solid weapons with Allen Robinson, who is the go-to playmaker, Darnell Mooney, who has the speed to blow by defenders, and Anthony Miller, who is the sometimes forgotten about threat who can burn defenses when left one-on-one. Utilizing all three of his wide receivers will be massive against the Saints, who have been solid against the pass. Once near the red-zone, Jimmy Graham has been a beast at hauling in touchdowns and being the player to get the ball to near the endzone. Lastly, there is David Montgomery, who is the backbone of this offense. When he does not get going, the offense goes nowhere. Showing the Bears can run the ball effectively will open up passing lanes over the middle, which is where Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller can shine. Fail to do that, and it may be a long day for the Bears.

Chicago Bears Depth Chart

QB: Mitchell Trubisky
RB1: David Montgomery
WR1: Darnell Mooney
WR2: Allen Robinson
WR3: Anthony Miller
TE: Cole Kmet

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are in a tough spot with contact tracing affecting all their running backs including Alvin Kamara and Latavious Murray. If they are not eligible to play on Sunday, then the gameplan totally changes. But first, looking at if they are slated to play, the gameplan will be to give Kamara the ball. His six touchdown game in week 16 was nothing short of phenomenal. 155 rushing yards piled on to that, and you have one of the best running back performances of all-time. Kamara’s effectiveness both in the rushing and the passing game is killer for defenses as they have to prepare for both every play, meanwhile finding how to cover Michael Thomas effectively. Signs are pointing towards Thomas and Kamara playing on Sunday, which would make the options endless for the Saints on offense. With Drew Brees leading the helm and this being likely his final season before retirement, he will be giving everything he has to end on a Super Bowl championship run.

In all likelihood, Kamara will be set to go, but if the Saints have to play without a running back again as they did in week 17, we saw Ty Montgomery run the ball incredibly well with 105 yards. Taysom Hill also showed his brilliance with a rushing touchdown and 41 rushing yards. While they probably will not find as much success against the Bears, they do have something to lean on if things become desperate. If there is anyone who can make something good come from chaos, it is Drew Brees, who has had to work with a banged-up receiving corps all year long, with Michael Thomas missing most of the season. With Michael Thomas, they could easily have finished as the #1 seed in the NFC, but these are now the circumstances, and they still should win this game with whoever they have ready to play. Whether it will be a Montgomery showdown with Ty against David or if Kamara can return to action, it will be a game to watch.

New Orleans Saints Depth Chart

QB: Drew Brees
RB1: Alvin Kamara
RB2: Latavius Murray
WR1: Michael Thomas
WR2: Emmanuel Sanders
WR3: Tre’Quan Smith
TE: Jared Cook

Betting Corner Bears +10

Spread: Bears +10, Saints -10
Moneyline: Bears +390, Saints -480
Over/Under: 47.5

The Saints are the clear favorite here, and who to bet on for the spread will come down to if Alvin Kamara and/or Michael Thomas will play. They are both slated to play this Sunday, which leads to the high spread at 10. With both playing, the Saints should cruise to an easy victory as they were able to take down the Bears earlier this season without Michael Thomas. With their big playmaker, there should be no stopping the Saints’ offense, who will roll all over the Bears’ defense. On the other hand, the Bears’ offense has shown ups and downs, and the inconsistency of Mitch Trubisky has been his problem since arriving in the NFL. With both weapons at hand, the Saints should cover, and without them, it might turn into a closer match.

The matchup between the two teams in week 8 went into overtime and ended with a score of 26-23, which would barely reach into the over that is set for this week’s game. Again, if Kamara and Thomas can both play, the Saints should be running up the score and covering the over when paired with whatever the Bears can muster up.

Daily Fantasy Picks

Drew Brees
Any game now could be Drew Brees’s final game as this could be his last season before retirement. The future Hall-of-Famer has shown time and time again how he is able to use whatever scenario is put in front of him and use whatever tools available to him and succeed. Even without Michael Thomas for the majority of the season, Brees has led the Saints to a #2 seed in the NFC. He threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns against the Bears earlier this season, so what is holding him back from doing it again?

Alvin Kamara
If able to play, Alvin Kamara will be ready to have another huge game as he is coming off his six touchdown game in week 16. The Bears’ defense ranks in the middle for allowing running backs to run free compared to the rest of the NFL, which gives Kamara everything he needs to exploit the weaknesses the Bears will show. His dual-threat ability in the passing game as well will play a big factor in his fantasy value as he is a threat on every single play that he is on the field. All that needs to happen is for him to be eligible to play after being exposed to COVID-19.

Allen Robinson
Allen Robinson is by far the favorite receiver to go to in the Bears’ offense. He leads the team in targets by 53 with his 151 targets, the next being Darnell Mooney with 98. He is a 1,000+ yard receiver and the biggest threat on the Bears’ offense as you will find him involved with plays down the field as well as highly involved when the Bears just need a few yards to get the first down. Apart from Jimmy Graham, he leads receivers in touchdowns with six. The Bears’ survival in the playoffs will be resting on his ability to make big plays this week as they will need everything they can get on offense to beat the Saints’ defense. If Robinson doesn’t perform, the Bears won’t perform.