Tag: 2020 playoffs

Twitter reacts to the Saints borrowing trick play from the Bears

If there was something familiar about the Saints’ trick play, it’s because the Bears ran the exact same play against them last week.

With the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers deadlocked in a close divisional battle, Saints head coach Sean Payton pulled out a trick play to give his team the lead in the second quarter.

Running back Alvin Kamara took a direct snap and handed it off to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who pitched it to quarterback Jameis Winston, who connected with Tre’Quan Smith for a 56-yard touchdown.

If there was something familiar about the play, it’s because the Chicago Bears ran the exact same play against New Orleans last week in the wild-card round. The only difference is, the Saints actually executed it while Javon Wims dropped the ball in the end zone.

They say that the NFL is a copycat league, and it certainly appears so with this play. Take a look at them side-by-side.

Naturally, Twitter had plenty to say about the Saints borrowing from the Bears — and they actually acknowledged that the play came from Chicago, unlike the announcers on FOX.

WATCH: Saints borrowed trick play from Bears, but they actually pulled it off

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery as the Saints borrowed a trick play from the Bears, which failed last week.

The Chicago Bears were dealt an early playoff exit by the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs with a 21-9 loss. It was a game that the Bears should’ve won, given New Orleans’ struggles opened the door. But Chicago couldn’t help but get in their own way.

The Saints certainly learned from that wild-card victory — and Sean Payton even took a page out of Matt Nagy’s book. In the second quarter of Sunday’s divisional game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Saints ran the exact same play that the Bears nearly executed to perfection last Sunday against them.

The only difference was that the Saints receiver didn’t drop the ball. Literally and figuratively.

When Chicago ran the play, running back David Montgomery took the direct snap and handed it off to running back Cordarrelle Patterson, who then pitched it to quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who launched it nearly 50 yards to receiver Javon Wims for what should’ve been the game-tying touchdown in the first quarter.

Only, as Bears fans know too well, Wims dropped it. It went right through his hands, much like any sort of momentum Chicago might’ve had in that game.

When New Orleans ran the exact same play against Tampa Bay, running back Alvin Kamara took the direct snap and handed it off to receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who pitched it to quarterback Jameis Winston, who connected with Tre’Quan Smith for the 56-yard touchdown.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But the Saints actually pulled the trick play off — which is why they’re still in the playoffs while the Bears aren’t.

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Anthony Miller fined for throwing punch at CJ Gardner-Johnson in wild-card game

Anthony Miller and CJ Gardner-Johnson have been fined for their scuffle in last week’s Bears-Saints wild-card game.

There was plenty of ugly in the Chicago Bears’ wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints. But perhaps the ugliest was an inexcusable unsportsmanlike penalty on Bears receiver Anthony Miller, who threw a punch at Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson.

Both Miller and Gardner-Johnson have been fined for their role in the scuffle — Miller was fined $8,589 for unnecessary roughness and Gardner-Johnson fined $15,000 for unnecessary roughness.

What made it even more inexcusable was the fact that Miller — and the entire team — were warned about Gardner-Johnson’s antics. Matt Nagy took 10-15 minutes to show highlights of Gardner-Johnson instigating things with different players. Bears players were warned, and Miller still reacted.

Miller was ejected from the game, which hurt due to Darnell Mooney’s absence with an ankle injury. It was the second time Gardner-Johnson has gotten a Bears receiver ejected from a game this season. He did the same with Javon Wims, who was suspended for two games.

Not that it’ll come as any surprise, Bears tight end Cole Kmet was not fined for flipping the ball at an official, something he was flagged for as the refs believed he was tossing it at an opposing player.

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S Tashaun Gipson was Bears’ highest-graded player vs. Saints

The Bears did a decent job containing the Saints for most of the game, and Tashaun Gipson was the Bears’ highest-graded player by PFF.

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The Chicago Bears couldn’t overcome self-inflicted mistakes to defeat the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round, and now Chicago is facing a long offseason with important questions left to be answered.

Several of those concern the defense, which actually did a decent job of containing the Saints’ offense for most of the game. One of the players that stood out was safety Tashaun Gipson, who made several plays to keep Chicago in the game.

Gipson was the Bears’ highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus, notching a 87.4 overall grade. He allowed just one catch on four targets in coverage for 11 yards. Gipson was all around the ball, recording two pass breakups and one forced fumble.

The Bears signed Gipson to a one-year deal back in April, and he was a solid safety alongside Eddie Jackson this season. Gipson had two interceptions, which tied with linebacker Roquan Smith for a team-high.

This season, Gipson had 65 total tackles, seven passes defensed and two interceptions. Gipson is set to hit the open market this offseason.

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13 crazy stats from Bears’ 21-9 loss vs. Saints in wild-card round

Here are 13 crazy stats from the Bears’ 21-9 loss against the Saints in the wild-card playoffs.

The Chicago Bears suffered another early exit from the NFL postseason with a 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Perhaps most frustrating is that this game was a winnable one, and Chicago did what it does best: beat itself.

Here are 13 crazy stats from the Bears’ 21-9 loss against the Saints in the wild-card playoffs.

13 crazy stats from Bears’ 21-9 loss vs. Saints in wild-card round

Here are 13 crazy stats from the Bears’ 21-9 loss against the Saints in the wild-card playoffs.

The Chicago Bears suffered another early exit from the NFL postseason with a 21-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Perhaps most frustrating is that this game was a winnable one, and Chicago did what it does best: beat itself.

Here are 13 crazy stats from the Bears’ 21-9 loss against the Saints in the wild-card playoffs.

Anthony Miller was warned about C.J. Gardner-Johnson

The Bears took the time to reinforce the importance of not responding to CJ Gardner-Johnson’s tactics – and Anthony Miller did it anyway.

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The Chicago Bears’ wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints had shades of the teams’ meeting in Week 8. And it wasn’t just Chicago’s offensive struggles — they mustered just three points for the first 59:59 on Sunday.

For the second time this year, a Bears wide receiver took the bait from Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and was ejected as a result.

In the first meeting, it was Javon Wims. Gardner-Johnson swiped his mouthpiece, and Wims threw a couple of punches on the next series. He was ejected and suspended for two games.

History repeated itself on Sunday when Anthony Miller was ejected from the game after throwing a punch at Gardner-Johnson in the third quarter after the Saints safety was mouthing off.

You’d think that Miller would’ve learned from what happened with Wims. Miller even addressed the incident last week leading up to the game.

“Guys like that do what they do,” he said.

Gardner-Johnson’s reputation certainly precedes him, and he’s known for taunting receivers on an almost weekly basis — even his teammate Michael Thomas, who threw a punch at him in an October practice.

Matt Nagy said the Bears took the time to reinforce the importance of not responding to Gardner-Johnson’s tactics. On Wednesday, he showed his team clips of Gardner-Johnson taunting other players.

The message was clear: Don’t engage. Miller did anyway.

After Wims was ejected and suspended for throwing punches, he was lucky to keep his job. Now, Miller has done the same — during a playoff game — and it’s not hard to believe that with his behavior, and his performance this season, that we have seen the last of Miller in a Bears uniform.

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Bears vs. Saints game recap: Everything we know

The Bears exited the playoffs the same way they entered it, with a whimper. Chicago fell 21-9 to New Orleans in the wild-card round.

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The Chicago Bears exited the playoffs the same way they entered it, with a whimper. After stumbling into the seventh seed in the NFC — thanks to a pair of Arizona Cardinals losses — the Bears did what they’ve done all season long — they beat themselves in a 21-9 loss to the Saints.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing about this game was that it was winnable. If the Bears were any other team, they would’ve beaten the Saints. This game was right there for the taking, and Chicago reverted to the kind of play that will likely cost people jobs this offseason.

While the Bears’ defense rose to the challenge of containing the Saints’ offense, they eventually tired out as Chicago’s offense failed to mount anything more than a field goal in four quarters of play.

Matt Nagy led a team that was completely undisciplined and not prepared for this game, and it showed. Now, he — and general manager Ryan Pace — will await their fate as another Bears season ends in disappointing fashion.

Instant analysis of Bears’ 21-9 loss to the Saints in the wild-card round

Chicago couldn’t pull off the upset against New Orleans as they went one-and-done in the postseason with a 21-9 loss in the wild-card round.

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The Chicago Bears are back in the postseason as they squeaked their way into the seventh seed, but they had a tough matchup against the second-seeded New Orleans Saints. The Bears came in as heavy underdogs, and they couldn’t pull off the upset as they fell 21-9 to the Saints.

The Saints started the game with the ball and they were slowly moving down the field. They picked up three first downs and got into Bears territory, but the Bears defense was able to force a punt. However, the Bears’ offense didn’t do much work as they settled for a three and out.

Future Hall of Famer Drew Brees took advantage of the quick stand by his defense and was able to start at their 45-yard line. It took one play to get into Bears territory, then the Saints struck first with an 11-yard touchdown from Brees to wide receiver Michael Thomas.

On the Bears’ second possession, they started to get going. On the third play of the drive, Mitchell Trubisky found Javon Wims for a 28-yard gain. Unfortunately, Wims would make a crucial error on the next play. The Bears pulled off a little trickery in the backfield that had Trubisky throwing deep to Wims that would have been a wide-open touchdown, but Wims dropped it.

During the same possession, the Bears were looking at a fourth and four at the Saints 34-yard line. The Bears went for it and it didn’t go the way they hoped. Trubisky rolled out to his right and tried to run for the first down, but it seemed like he was unaware where the first down marker was and he was just short of extending the Bears drive.

It felt like it was going to be one of those games for the Bears where nothing was going to go their way. However, on the Saints’ possession, they ended up missing a 50-yard field goal. Then, after a Bears punt, the Saints utility player, Taysom Hill, was looking to throw deep, but safety Tashaun Gipson was able to knock the ball out of Hill’s hand and it was recovered by former Saints player John Jenkins.

The Bears were able to capitalize on the Saints turnover, but they weren’t able to tie the game. They had to settle for a Cairo Santos 36-yard field goal to cut into the Saints lead, but the Bears trailed 7-3 heading into halftime.

Even though not many people expected the Bears to win this game, they have kept it close. The Bears have kept it to a one possession game and will have the ball to start the second half. However, it was a terrible start. The first possession resulted in a three and out, then Anthony Miller got ejected

The Saints were down messing around with the Bears. On their first possession in the second half, New Orleans started at their 15-yard line and went on a 12-play drive that finished with a six-yard passing touchdown from Brees to Latavius Murray.

Then, it doesn’t help that the Bears offense, once again, goes three and out. At this point, it seems like all hope is gone. The Bears’ offense can’t move the ball, then the Saints kept marching down the field as they extended their lead 21-3 with a three-yard rushing touchdown.

After the Saints touchdowns, it was just déjà vu for the Bears’ offense. They couldn’t get anything going after they suffered another three and out. On the day, the Bears totaled five three and outs, then finished going 1-for-10 on three-down conversions.

The Saints didn’t care that the Bears were struggling on both sides of the ball, because they tried to keep extending their lead. On fourth and goal from the one-yard line, Brees tried to extend his way into the end zone but was rejected by the defense. The Bears had to start at their one-yard line with little time remaining but they saw their season come to an end after a 21-9 loss.

It was a long season for the Bears where they saw peaks and valleys throughout the year, but the season comes to an end in the wild-card round after going 8-8 in the regular season. The offseason will be an interesting one for the Bears as there’s a lot of questions marks circling the quarterback position, the roster, coaching staff, and front office.

Saints S CJ Gardner-Johnson gets another Bears receiver ejected

Bears WR Anthony Miller was ejected for throwing a punch at Saints S CJ Gardner-Johnson following a play in the third quarter.

Believe it or not, the Chicago Bears had a chance to beat the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s wild-card game. Only they’ve failed to capitalize on countless opportunities, have been completely undisciplined and have beat themselves on countless occasions.

One of those came in the third quarter when Bears receiver Anthony Miller was ejected for throwing a punch at Saints safety CJ Gardner-Johnson following a play in the third quarter.

Does that name sound familiar? It should. Gardner-Johnson was the one that instigated things with receiver Javon Wims back in Week 8, where Wims retaliated by throwing a couple of punches his way.

Gardner-Johnson has been an instigator, that much is obvious. But the Bears have been warned about him, especially considering what happened with Wims earlier this season.

Miller has been a disappointment in his third season. While he has all the potential in the world, the Bears can’t continue to hope for him to take the next step.

The Bears trail the Saints 14-3 in the third quarter.