New Orleans Saints: Why Week 6’s win is extremely important for Week 7
By Jason Reed
The New Orleans Saints ground out yet another victory on Sunday with a 13-6 win over Gardner Minshew and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The New Orleans Saints‘ win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6 was not the prettiest or the most entertaining to watch, but the team got the job done nonetheless.
In what had all the makings of being a textbook trap game, the New Orleans Saints went into Jacksonville and defeated the Jaguars 13-6. The offense did enough to get the win but the story of the game was the defense, which had yet another great showing.
Not only did Jacksonville score only six points but the Saints only allowed them to get into the red zone two times. And in those two times, they stopped the Jaguars from scoring a touchdown.
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The Saints are now 4-0 in games where Drew Brees does not start as they are making the case to be the NFC’s one seed heading into the playoffs. There is still a lot of football left to play, but it is safe to say that the Saints are riding high right now.
That is important to keep in mind as the Saints are taking on the Chicago Bears, in Chicago nonetheless, in Week 7. Not only is it in Chicago, but it is a 3:25 start time during the time of year where Bear weather starts to come into play.
It won’t be that cold, as the forecast expects it to be 63 degrees at 4 p.m. but right now, it appears as if there is a 50/50 shot of it raining during the game.
This does not bode well for the Saints and it is especially worrisome coming up against a great defense like the Chicago Bears on the road. While a daunting task does lie ahead, the Saints actually gave us the perfect win in Week 6 to make us confident in Week 7.
It sounds strange, as practical wisdom would tell us that a blowout win would evoke the most confidence. That is not the case in this situation: the Saints proved to us yet again that they can win ugly, which is extremely important against the Bears.
This is the Saints’ second win of this caliber and it proves that the first was not a fluke. That is the kind of game the Saints are in for next week, so it is good that the Jaguars served as a warmup.
The Chicago Bears have the better defense hands down but the offense is not as dangerous with the lingering quarterback questions. Considering how good the Saints’ defense has looked, it is safe to say that the Bears might not score a lot of points in this game.
That gives way to the offense to do what it can by draining the clock and managing the game to get out to a lead. This is not a game where the Saints need to quick-strike and score a lot of points. This is a game where the Saints are going to have to beat the Bears at their own game without Drew Brees.
If Brees was in it would be a different story. He isn’t and the Saints must suit up for a hard-nosed, defensive battle.
Next. The Saints proved us wrong. dark
Week 6 served as the appetizer and Week 7 is going to be the full-course meal. And if the New Orleans Saints can escape Soldier Field with a win, then they just might go undefeated with Teddy Bridgewater under center.