Bridgewater leads Saints past Bears 36-25
(CHICAGO) - The New Orleans Saints insisted they were ready for the challenge once Drew Brees went down. All they've done since is back up their words with wins. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 281 yards and two touchdowns, and the Saints improved to 5-0 without their injured star quarterback by beating the Chicago Bears 35-25 on Sunday. The Saints (6-1) again showed why they still see themselves as Super Bowl contenders even though their star quarterback is out indefinitely because of a torn ligament in his right thumb. Bridgewater completed 23 of 38 passes, Michael Thomas had nine receptions for 131 yards, and Latavius Murray ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Besides Brees, New Orleans had to get by without top running back Alvin Kamara (ankle, knee) and top receiving tight end Jared Cook (ankle). The Bears (3-3) lost their second straight, with Mitchell Trubisky struggling after missing a game because of a shoulder injury. They were hoping their prized quarterback would build on a solid showing in Week 3 against Washington, when he threw for three touchdowns. Instead, he was erratic, made poor decisions and heard it from the crowd. Trubisky finished 34 of 54 with 251 yards and two late touchdowns in his first appearance since he was hurt early against Minnesota on Sept. 29. He said his shoulder was fine, but the offense sure is not. The run game was once again an afterthought, with Chicago setting a franchise low with seven carries. And the 17 yards rushing were by far the fewest this season. About all the fans had to cheer for was a 102 yard kickoff return by Cordarrelle Patterson in the first quarter that matched the second-longest in franchise history.

OTHER NFL SCORES
LA Rams 37 – Atlanta 10
Buffalo 31 – Miami 21
Jacksonville 27 – Cincinnati 17
Arizona 27 – NY Giants 21
San Francisco 9 – Washington 0
Tennessee 23 – LA Chargers 20
Baltimore 30 – Seattle 16
Dallas 37 – Philadelphia 10