Chicago Bears vs New Orleans Saints: A look inside the numbers

All statistics and snap counts are taken directly from the NFL's Game Statistic and Information System.

On occasion the numbers paint a different picture than the final score would indicate. This is not one of those times.

The Chicago Bears were throttled by the New Orleans Saints for three plus quarters last night. If it wasn't for a couple 4th quarter touchdowns there may not have been any positive stats to come out of the game for the Bears.

If you had to pick a star of the game for Chicago, you'd have to go with rookie punter Pat O'Donnell. He had 6 punts, placing 3 inside the 20 yard line and he had a 46.3 net average. Fellow special teamer Marc Mariani looked OK as a returner last night, averaging 28.4 yards on 5 kick returns. Senorise Perry chipped in with 20 yards on some kick return trickery.

Speaking of special teams trickery, running a fake punt with 10 men on the field is just brutal. It's also a penalty and the Bears had 9 in total for 74 yards. The Saints were penalized 3 times for 25 yards.

The Saints outgained the Bears with 443 yards to 278, they held the time of possession edge 33:31 to 26:29, they had 25 first downs to Chicago's 16 and they bested the Bears in 3rd down percentage 36% (4-11) to 17% (2-12). Chicago also failed on both of their 4th down tries.

Eight Chicago Bears played all 60 offensive snaps. Jay Cutler, Alshon Jeffery, Marquess Wilson and the five offensive linemen. Cutler had a couple garbage time TDs that really helped his overall passer rating. He ended the game with a 55.8 rating, but here's how he fared quarter by quarter, 1st: 10.0, 2nd: 17.6, 3rd: 38.3 and 4th: 134.4. Mr. Fourth Quarter indeed!

Overall he was 17 of 31 for 194 yards, with those 2 TDs, 3 interceptions, 1 fumble (which he recovered) and he was sacked 7 times. His top receiver was Jeffery with 4 catches for 78 yards and a TD on 9 targets. Wilson had a career day with 3 receptions on 5 targets for 16 yards and a TD.

Tight End Martellus Bennett played 55 snaps on O, making 4 catches on 6 targets for 36 yards. he remarked after the game that he was kept in to block a little more than usual against the Saints. Back up TE Dante Rosario caught 1 of the 2 balls thrown his way for 4 yards. He played 23 snaps on offense and another 18 on special teams.

Running back Matt Forte took 6 plays off, with Ka'Deem Carey spelling him on those. Forte had 16 rushes for 78 yards, and he caught 2 of the 5 balls directed towards him for 21 yards. Carey had 1 rush for 4 yards, and he caught all 3 balls thrown at him for 39 yards.

Number three wide out Josh Morgan played 41 snaps, he was targeted once and he took an end around for a 21 yard gain. The Bears went with a 6th offensive lineman once, giving Eben Britton the lone snap.

On defense it was only middle linebacker Jon Bostic that played all 68 snaps; he had 8 tackles. Weakside linebacker Christian Jones led the Bears with 13 tackles; he played 65 snaps on D plus an additional 14 in the 3rd phase. Strongside OLB Shea McClellin made 3 tackles in 43 snaps. Khaseem Greene had 1 snap on defense to round out the linebacker playing rotation.

The Bears had nickelback Demontre Hurst on the field for 29 defensive snaps and 15 on special teams. He made 2 tackles on D.

Starting corners Kyle Fuller and Tim Jennings played 62 and 63 snaps respectively. Fuller had 3 tackles and Jennings had 4 with a pass defense. Al Louis-Jean had 12 snaps at cornerback, making 1 tackle, and Sherrick McManis had 3 defensive snaps at corner and 21 snaps on special teams.

Rookie safety Brock Vereen played all but 1 snap on defense, making 4 tackles and a forced fumble. Fellow safety Ryan Mundy played 62/68 snaps on D, making 9 tackles, a tackle for loss, a sack, a QB hit and a pass defense.

The playing time breakdown for Chicago's d-line went like this. Starting defensive end Jared Allen led the group with 66 snaps, while fellow starter Willie Young had 46. Allen had 4 tackles, a TFL, 1 QBH, 2 PD and a fumble recovery. Young picked up another sack, running his season total to 9.5, plus he had 2 tackles, 1 TFL and 1 QBH.

David Bass was the 3rd DE in rotation playing 23 snaps and Cornelius Washington had 2 defensive snaps.

Among the defensive tackles, Stephen Paea's 41 snaps led the position group. He had 1 tackle which was for a loss, plus a QB hit. Jeremiah Ratliff was next with 39 snaps, he had 2 tackles and a QBH. Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson each had 28 plays and a tackle.

For the special teamers, Danny McCray played 20 snaps and Anthony Walters, DeDe Lattimore and the newly signed Montell Owens each played 19 snaps.

Any of the numbers stand out to you this week?