Five big takeaways from Bears' disjointed loss against New Orleans Saints

NEW ORLEANS –– The turnovers were the story of the Bears’ loss, 24-17, to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at the Caesars Superdome. The Bears were minus-five in turnover margin.Quarterback Tyson Bagent turned the ball over four times, three interceptions and a fumble. Still, the Bears gave themselves several chances to tie up the game in the fourth quarter, they simply couldn’t execute in crunch time.The turnovers were a huge blow, but this game was there for the taking. Here are the five big takeaways from Sunday’s loss, which dropped the Bears to 2-7.1. Tale of two BagentsFor the first two quarters, Bagent was on track for arguably his best game yet. Making his third start since Justin Fields injured his thumb, Bagent led two 75-yard touchdown drives, both capped by touchdown passes to tight end Cole Kmet.In the first half, Bagent was taking what the defense gave him, which often meant he was scrambling from the pocket and taking off. Bagent finished the afternoon with 70 rushing yards. Yes, he threw one interception in the first half, but he also threw for 148 yards before halftime. The game was tied, 14-14, at the break.As has been the case in his previous starts, Bagent was really good in the short area. He completed 15-of-19 passes that went 10 yards or fewer beyond the line of scrimmage, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Those passes went for 176 yards with one touchdown and one interception.The second half was a much different story. Bagent blamed the turnovers on himself — and they were mistakes by the QB — but there were also ways his receivers could’ve helped him out.”It was good on their part, bad on my part,” Bagent said of the Saints’ defense. “Tight coverage and they made a couple really good plays. Once again, I’ve got to probably just go somewhere else with the ball. So that’s on me.”2. Hard to blame the defenseThe Saints started all five of their fourth-quarter possession in Bears’ territory, and they started six of their eight second-half possessions in Bears territory.The fact that they scored only 10 second-half points is kind of remarkable.The Saints’ plan of attack looked much different than what they showed in previous games. Saints QB Derek Carr had been one of the more aggressive quarterbacks. He entered the week with the seventh-highest average intended depth of target. But that wasn’t the game plan Sunday.Sunday’s game plan revolved around taking care of the football and keeping the passes short. The Bears defense did not have a single turnover.”It’s hard when you’re not getting the ball thrown down field as much,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said. “You’ve just got to continue to punch on the ball, break on the ball. It’s tough. You look at the film of them playing in previous weeks, they’re airing it out. They throwing the ball. We come here, it’s not as much as that.”Do-it-all Saints tight end Taysom Hill had a touchdown pass and a receiving touchdown. The Saints used him in their jumbo package with several extra linemen.”People get worried when they see him,” defensive tackle Andrew Billings said. “The challenge is doing your job and not worrying about what he’s about to do.”3. Montez Sweat’s debutNew Bears pass rusher Montez Sweat had a quiet afternoon in his Bears debut. He finished the day with two tackles and a pass defended. He disrupted Carr once, but was not credited with any quarterback hits.”It wasn’t enough,” Sweat said. “I’ve got to get there more. I’ve got to get more production.”