The Magnificent 7

Seven players who made the biggest difference in the Bears' 26-14 victory over the Saints on Sunday at Soldier Field:

1. Nahshon Wright

On a day when virtually every Bears defender made a key play that contributed to the victory, Wright made the impactful with a nifty interception of a Spencer Rattler pass and 38-yard return to the Saints 30. It set up a four-play touchdown drive, with D'Andre Swift scoring on an 11-yard run to give the Bears a 13-0 lead. Wright has been mainly a back-up on defense in the NFL, but he's been invaluable as a full-time corner with All-Pro Jaylon Johnson — and rotational cornerback Terell Smith out all season.

2. D'Andre Swift

His groin injury last week that limited him in practice Thursday and Friday was cause for concern — especially considering that Swift's inability to play effectively through injuries in Ben Johnson's offense with the Lions in 2022 greased the skids for his departure after that season. But Swift responded like a gamer — with 19 carries for 124 yard and the 11-yard touchdown. It's the first time he's had back-to-back 100-yard games since 2023 with the Eagles, when he rushed for 175 against the Vikings and 130 against the Buccaneers in Weeks 2-3.

3. Montez Sweat

Set the tone for a superb defensive performance that made the difference with a strip sack of Spencer Rattler on the Saints' second play from scrimmage (with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter recovering) and a tackle-for-loss (shared with Tremaine Edmunds) on Alvin Kamara on fourth-and-one in the second quarter. It was only Sweat's second sack of the season (the other came against Dallas in Week 3), but he's made a bigger impact — coincidentally or not — since criticism of his general production and cost-effectiveness became a bigger issue during the bye week.

4. Chris Olave

The Bears never got the chance to pair Olave with his college quarterback Justin Fields (as the Bengals did with Joe Burrow/Ja'Marr Chase and the Eagles did with Jalen Hurts/DeVonta Smith), but it couldn't have hurt. Olave did his best to make an NFL quarterback out of Spencer Rattler on Sunday, with five receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns. With the Saints trailing 20-0 late in the first half, Olave's 57-yard catch and 21-yard touchdown reception two plays later prevented an early blowout.

5. Tremaine Edmunds

Just close your eyes and pretend that Edmunds has T.J. Edwards' contract (or better yet consider that between them they average $11.0M a year) and Edmunds is a pretty darn good linebacker, playing at a Pro Bow level the past month. A week before inevitable comparisons are stoked, with the Bears possibly facing Roquan Smith next week, Edmunds is playing at a consistently high level if not a spectacular one. He had a team-high nine tackles (one shy of a fourth consecutive game with double-digit tackles), an interception and a sack against the Saints.

6. Kyle Monangai

The angst over the Bears missing out on a top-flight running back in the draft was legitimate but still a little overwrought considering that Ben Johnson's offense has been productive with whatever backs he has available (including Swift and Jamaal Williams in 2022 before the Lions upgraded with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs). Monangai, a seventh-round rookie, keeps growing with the Bears' offense. He had 13 carries for 81 yards (6.2 yards per carry), including a season-long 24-yard run, and a well-deserved one-yard touchdown run that gave the Bears a 20-0 lead with 2:51 left in the second quarter. He not only doubled his season rushing total in one game (35-162, 4.6 avg.), but now has more rushing yards than Patriots second-round rookie TreVeyon Henderson (43-153, 3.6 after two carries for five yards against the Titans on Sunday.

7. Kevin Byard

The veteran safety could be a wild card "Magnificent 7" entry every time the Bears win, because not only does he usually have something to do with it, but Byard doesn't get enough credit – though he does get some — for being a glue guy on the Bears' defense that has been shaky with Jaylon Johnson, Edwards and cornerback Kyler Gordon missing games early in the season, but has been thriving on takeaways. Byard's interception Sunday gave him four in the past four games — all of them Bears victories. It's not a coincidence. On a good team, Byard is an even better guy to have on your side.

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