Santos’ game-ending FG halts Bears’ skid
DETROIT >> Matt Nagy still has a job and perhaps his team has a shot to salvage its season.
Cairo Santos made a 28yard game-ending field goal to give the slumping Chicago Bears a 16-14 victory over the winless Detroit Lions on Thursday.
The Bears (4-7) ended a five-game losing streak under Nagy, who was answering questions about his job status less than 48 hours before kickoff.
Nagy said team chairman George McCaskey told the team on Wednesday the Patch.com report that the fourth-year coach was told he will no longer coach after the game in Detroit was not accurate.
“We’ve been through some stuff, some distractions, the last couple days,” Nagy acknowledged. “But it just proves who they are, what type of fighters they are, what type of winners they are.”
Meanwhile, the Lions (010-1) showed no one in the NFL comes up short quite as they do.
“First, you have to learn how not to lose,” said Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, who returned from a one-game absence because of an oblique injury.
Detroit made many mistakes, early and late, to extend its winless skid to 15 games since beating the Bears on the road nearly a year ago. The Lions had 10 penalties, including three in a row when they were at midfield that ended their chance to score on their last possession.
“Having second-and-25 or third-and-32 definitely shrinks your playbook,” first year coach Dan Campbell lamented.
Andy Dalton, starting in
place of injured rookie Justin Fields, led the Bears on an 18-play, 69-yard drive that took the final 8:30 off the clock.
Dalton finished 24 of 39 for 317 yards with a goahead, 17-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham late in the first half and an interception.
Goff was 21 of 25 for 171 yards with two touchdowns and a fumble on a play that was reversed after Nagy challenged.
BILLS 31, SAINTS 6 >> Josh Allen passed for 260 yards and four touchdowns, Buffalo’s defense stifled New Orleans’ short-handed offense and the Bills rolled to a victory.
Tight end Dawson Knox caught two TD passes, giving him a franchise-best seven TDs in a single season by a tight end. His second score gave the Bills (7-4) a 24-0 lead.
Stefon Diggs caught seven passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, and running back Matt Breida turned a short pass into a 23-yard score.
The Saints (5-6), playing without dynamic running back Alvin Kamara for a third straight game, were shut out for three quarters.
They finally scored on Trevor Siemian’s 11-yard pass to tight end Nick Vannett on the first play of the fourth.
Buffalo outgained New Orleans 361-190 and the Bills possessed the ball for 34:38 to the Saints’ 25:01.
The game illustrated how limited the Saints’ offense has become, in part because of injuries to Kamara and star receiver Michael Thomas, who has not played all season, and due to significant changes at quarterback.
New Orleans went 5-2 in games started by QB Jameis Winston, who took over this season for the retired Drew Brees. But Winston went out for the season with a knee injury during New Orleans’ most recent victory on Oct. 31 and the Saints have lost every game that Siemian has started.
Siemian was 17-of-29 passing for 163 yards, one TD and one interception. Taysom Hill, who is coming off a foot injury, was active as New Orleans’ backup but did not play.
SAINTS HONOR BREES AT
HALFTIME OF THANKSGIVING NIGHT GAME >> Retired Saints quarterback Drew Brees finally got a send-off from a packed and loud Superdome.
With Brees calling Thursday night’s game between New Orleans and Buffalo as part of the NBC broadcast team, the franchise chose to honor Brees on the field at halftime.
With the Southern University band spelling out “Brees #9” on the field, a montage of memorable moments from Brees career played on Superdome video boards before Saints owner Gayle Benson introduced Brees. Cheers erupted, quickly followed by elongated howls of, “Dreeew!”
“We’ve experienced so many unbelievable moments on this field and in this city.,” Brees said. “Thank you so much for loving us, thank you for embracing me and my family. We will always love you and we will always work to make you proud.”
Brees then raised his fist in the air while urging the crowd to belt out it’s traditional chant of “Who dat, who dat, who dat say they gonna beat them Saints!”
“The greatest fans in the world, let’s blow the top off this dome and make the world feel it and hear it,” Brees said as he brought down his arm, initiating the chant.
The crowd then cheered as Brees walked off the field to go back to work.
Brees, who played 20 NFL season and his last 15 in New Orleans, played his final season before mostly sparse crowds as the NFL operated under COVID-19 protocols significantly restricting the size of gatherings in stadiums.
He retired last offseason as the NFL’s all-time leader in yards passing with 80,358, but has since been eclipsed this season by Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady.