Brees- led Saints defeat Bears in NFC wild- card game

Nancy Armour column: New Orleans must be better vs. Tom Brady, Buccaneers.

This isn’t going to cut it against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers.

The Saints advanced to the NFL playoffs divisional round with a 21- 9 victory over the Bears on Sunday in New Orleans. But Drew Brees and the Saints were not overly impressive for long stretches of the game, taking far too long to separate themselves from a .500 team that backed its way into the playoffs, was short- handed and could be on the verge of a significant housecleaning.

Not until midway through the third quarter did Brees and the Saints finally find their groove, erupting for two touchdowns in the last 20 minutes. Brees also was stopped inches short of the goal line on what would have been a third score.

Maybe this was the result of the COVID- 19 outbreak that kept Alvin Kamara out of last weekend’s game and practice all this past week.

Or the fact this was Michael Thomas’ first game in almost a month after an ankle injury.

Or that the Saints were playing a team that was obviously overmatched.

Whatever the reasons, the Saints didn’t start the game with the kind of urgency the playoffs demand. Or will going forward. Next up is Brady and the Bucs ( Sunday, 6: 40 p. m. ET), and a potential matchup with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Green Bay looms in the NFC championship game.

It’s true the Saints don’t need tuneup games. Brees and coach Sean Payton have been doing this for more than a decade, and New Orleans has depth and experience that any team would envy. But the Saints could have sent a resounding message to Tampa Bay and Green Bay that the No. 2 seed is a team to be reckoned with.

And … they didn’t.

Chicago is a mediocre team even when at full strength, and the Bears were far from that Sunday. They were playing without linebacker Roquan Smith, cornerbacks Buster Skrine and Jaylon Johnson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who has been one of Chicago’s most productive players in recent weeks.

Yet at halftime the score was 7- 3. Brees had connected with Thomas on his first touchdown in more than a year. But Wil Lutz missed a 50- yard field goal attempt, turned the ball over on a fumble and didn’t advance further than the Chicago 49 the rest of the half.

In fact, it seemed as if it took C. J. Gardner- Johnson’s dust- up with Anthony Miller – which resulted in Miller’s ejection – to get the Saints moving. They scored touchdowns on the next two possessions and almost had a third until the Bears stuffed Brees at the goal line.

The Saints beat the Bucs in both regular- season meetings, and Brady and Tampa Bay had their own issues Saturday night against the Washington Football Team, which had to start its quarantine quarterback.

But Brady does the playoffs better than almost anyone – have you seen his six Super Bowl rings? – and the Saints have to know it’s going to take more than they had Sunday to beat him.