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Behind Enemy Lines Wild-Card Edition: 5 questions with Saints Wire

The Chicago Bears will face off against the New Orleans Saints in the wild-card round of the 2020 NFL playoffs, where the Bears will be looking to pull off a huge upset.

The Bears are 10-point underdogs — the biggest underdogs of the wild-card round — and not many are giving them a chance to beat the Saints. But stranger things have happened in the postseason, so there’s always a chance.

Before the game, we caught up with managing editor John Sigler of Saints Wire to get the scoop on the Bears’ opponent.

Here are five questions with Saints Wire:

While Drew Brees has regressed a little in his play this season, he remains one of the best in the game at getting the ball to his playmakers. What’s the key to disrupting Brees?

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Getting Brees out of rhythm is critical. If he's on top of his tempo and stringing together completions to keep the defense on their heels, he's almost unstoppable. He processes information so quickly and is so accurate with his ball placement that he rarely misses the open receivers. But if defenses can bat his passes down at the line of scrimmage or flush him away from his spot before he can wind up to throw, he can be flustered and frustrated. Getting pressure quickly, either by elite pass rushers winning their matchups off the snap or overloading the protection with extra blitzers, is key.

Some good news for the Saints is that they should be getting back Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas. How much does this offense change with those guys in there?

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

It's a world of difference. The Saints have gotten by without them at times in recent years, but they're really the two pillars that keep the offense standing. Thomas forces teams to assign extra coverage his way, which creates opportunities for Kamara. And Kamara is so versatile a threat on the ground and through the air that it's tough for defenses to stay focused on Thomas for long. Kamara is such a reliable weapon who can pick up yards after the catch when you'd least expect it, while Thomas is as sure-handed as anyone ever has been in the NFL. Getting them both back allows the offense to shift gears at will and attack in so many different ways.

In the first meeting, RB David Montgomery found some success on the ground despite a makeshift offensive line. Can Montgomery find similar success against this fourth-ranked Saints run defense?

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Maybe. The Saints run defense has taken some steps back in recent weeks, after the wheels fell off in their [Week 14] loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. They do have big nose tackle Malcom Brown back in the lineup, and he's easily their best run-stuffer up front. But their inconsistencies over the last month suggest there will be lanes for Montgomery to run free into the heart of the defense. Once he gets there, he'll see a lot of Alex Anzalone, who has replaced Kwon Alexander after his season-ending injury. Anzalone is a good athlete, but he's made a lot of poor decisions in run defense, which is why the Saints traded for Alexander in the first place. I think Montgomery is dangerous this week.

The Saints faced Nick Foles in the first meeting, but now they’ll see Mitchell Trubisky. How do you expect this Saints defense to attack this offense with Trubisky under center?

Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints have beaten Trubisky several times before, and I don't think they respect his ability to complete passes deep downfield very much. They know they can pressure him into making bad decisions with the football. Because the Saints run a nickel defense as their base, they are very dynamic in the areas of the field Trubisky has had his most success lately -- check-downs and quick reads on throws traveling 10 yards or fewer through the air. I don't think New Orleans will blitz him often, instead trusting him to make mistakes with more players dropping back into coverage. If he can connect on a couple of deep shots early, though, they might be in trouble.

The Saints win if … . The Saints lose if … .

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The Saints win on Sunday if they can limit Montgomery's impact on the ground. Trubisky is so high-variance through the air that they should be able to contain him and Allen Robinson, especially if top Saints corner Marshon Lattimore is dialed in and focused on his matchup. Taking away Montgomery should make Chicago one-dimensional and force more fourth downs than Matt Nagy is comfortable putting in Trubisky's hands. However, the Saints will lose this game if their offense can't consistently finish drives by scoring points. That's kind of obvious, but it's been a problem for them, at least on field goal tries. Former Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz has been off his game for a while now, missing too many kicks that he's made in past years. More whiffs from him could put the Bears offense in favorable-enough starting field position to make a difference.

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