New Orleans Saints vs Chicago Bears Box Score on Oct 06, 2013

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 6, 2013

Saints 26, Bears 18: Drew Brees passed for 288 yards and two touchdowns as New Orleans improved to 5-0 with a victory at Chicago.

Brees completed 29-of-35 passes but saw his NFL record streak of nine consecutive games with more than 300 yards passing coming to an end. Pierre Thomas caught both touchdown passes and finished with nine receptions for 55 yards while tight end Jimmy Graham made 10 catches for 135 yards.

Jay Cutler was 24-of-33 for 358 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (3-2), who lost their second game in a row after opening with three wins under first-year head coach Marc Trestman. Alshon Jeffery caught 10 passes for a team-record 218 yards and a TD.

The Saints dominated the first half and took a 20-7 lead into the break after Brees' second touchdown pass to Thomas with 23 seconds remaining. The Bears struggled to move the ball, save for an 80-yard drive capped by Cutler hitting Jeffery with a 3-yard scoring pass with 2:41 left in the second quarter.

Garrett Hartley tied a career high with four field goals for New Orleans to help stave off Chicago's fourth-quarter rally. Cutler hit Brandon Marshall with a 2-yard touchdown pass with 2:11 remaining and Matt Forte's run for the two-point conversion made it a one-possession game, but the Saints recovered the onside kick to end the threat.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Graham had his fourth consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving, tying the NFL record for tight ends shared by Tony Gonzalez. … The Bears, who entered leading the NFL with 14 takeaways, did not record one for the first time since Week 11 of last season against San Francisco. … Brees (1-4) and coach Sean Payton (1-3) won for the first time at Soldier Field.