(SportsNetwork.com) - If you really are what your record says you are, the New Orleans Saints and the Chicago Bears both have to come to grips with the fact that neither is a very good football team. One, however, can change that narrative over the final three weeks of the regular season. The other seems to fall deeper into the abyss every day. Both the Bears and Saints fashioned themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders before the season but now find themselves mired in identical 5-8 disasters in advance of their Monday Night Football matchup. New Orleans, however, remains relevant due to circumstance, the fact they play in the miserable NFC South. The Saints are actually tied atop the division with Atlanta, although the Falcons have the inside track because of a perfect mark inside the South. Carolina remains in the mix also at 4-8-1 after drubbing NOLA in Week 14. None of that should deter the Saints, however, because New Orleans hosts Atlanta on Dec. 21, meaning it controls its own destiny. The eventual NFC South winner is already guaranteed to become just the fifth division champion with a non-winning record after a 16-game season and could become the second with a losing record, joining the 2010 Seattle Seahawks. The only reason were sitting here still with that small sliver of hope is just because the way the division has unfolded this year, Saints coach Sean Payton admitted. Chicago, on the other hand, is 5-8 just like New Orleans but its season is done as the Bears are in last place in the NFC North entering Week 15, behind 10-3 Green Bay, 9-4 Detroit and 6-7 Minnesota. The Saints had a chance to seize control of their fate in Week 14 but responded by laying an egg in the form of a 41-10 setback at the hands of the Panthers, their fourth straight defeat at the Superdome, a place where New Orleans used to be dominant. The now-injured Cam Newton had a hand in four of Carolinas five touchdowns in that one. Conversely, Drew Brees was contained for most of the contest, throwing for 235 yards and a score to Benjamin Watson as New Orleans dropped its fourth straight as the host for the first time since 1999 -- Mike Ditkas final season as head coach. Marques Colston totaled 72 yards on five catches, while the rushing tandem of Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas was limited to 81 yards on 15 combined carries. Id use the word frustrated, Id use the word embarrassed, to go out there as a professional football team and play that way at home, Watson said. The outplayed us, outhustled us, out-executed us. Even if we lose, it shouldnt be this lopsided with the talent we have. The Bears also think they have a lot of talent but it doesnt show up very often and called out sick again in Week 14, resulting in a 41-28 setback to Dallas at Soldier Field. Matt Forte and Jay Cutler rushed for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, cutting a 25-point Dallas lead to 10. But the Bears lost for the second week in a row after falling in Detroit on Thanksgiving. Cutler, who entered the game 2-0 against Dallas with a 138.2 rating and no interceptions, completed 32 of his 46 throws for 341 yards, one pick and touchdown passes to Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett. Id be lying to you if I said that Im OK with it, said Bears linebacker Jon Bostic. (Im) disappointed, but the fact is that heading into this game we still had a quarter of our season left so its not like we can just go out there and start feeling sorry for ourselves and saying, We didnt have the season that we wanted to have so lets just cash it in these next four games. We have a great group here, great group of men -- coaches and players -- weve just got to find a way to come together and execute and try to win some ball games and finish strong. Chicago lost much more than a game to Dallas also, as star wide receiver Brandon Marshall was taken away from Soldier Field in an ambulance after suffering broken ribs and a lung injury in the first half. Marshall was officially placed on injured reserve earlier this week, ending his season with 61 passes for 721 yards, by far his lowest totals since his rookie season. The turmoil hardly ended there for the Bears as offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer reportedly apologized to his players for anonymously criticizing Cutler to NFL Media. According to the Chicago Tribune, Kromer admitted being the guy who claimed Chicago was having buyers remorse after the big-money contract proffered to Cutler in the offseason, claiming the embattled QBs inability to check out of bad plays in the running game was hamstringing the offense. I said what I had to say to the players, Kromer said, according to The Tribune. The Saints and Bears have split 26 previous regular-season meetings with New Orleans taking the last two to even the series. The teams last met in October of 2013 when Brees threw for 288 yards and two TDs as the Saints topped Chicago, 26-18, at Soldier Field. WHAT TO WATCH FOR Normally the Saints want to play at home but four straight losses at the Superdome -- the largest home skid in the Payton era -- and a Bears team that has seemingly checked out on the season make Chicago a desirable location even in December. Payton seems fed up and some reports have him walking away after the season, although hes denied those rumors and is the highest paid coach in football, meaning a divorce is not tenable. He is, however, intent on making some changes and started that process by releasing talented but troubled wide receiver Joe Morgan. Meanwhile, safety Kenny Vaccaro, a 2013 first-round pick who has had an awful sophomore campaign, is in danger of being benched, a scapegoat for a defense that has allowed 27 points or more in five straight games while surrendering nearly 500 yards per contest in the past four. Overall, the New Orleans D is 31st in football, allowing 398.7 ypg. Guys understand, hey, this is serious, Payton claimed. Its their profession. Its our profession. Its going to be our job and the leaders of this team to lead. This is exactly when you find out who your guys are. If its not happening then were going to look at other options. Despite Kromers assertions, which were amplified by the fact that the Bears have rushed for a total of 48 yards in their past two games, embattled Chicago head coach Marc Trestman is sticking with Cutler. Jay and I talk daily. I think he has a very good understanding of how we feel about him, Trestman said. Theres a lot of noise out there. Were all aware of that. All were trying to do here is to get our football team in a position that we can be better on Monday night. The Bears defense isnt much better than New Orleans, allowing an NFL-worst 29.1 points per game and giving up 377.8 ypg, tied for 28th in the league. Reports out of the Windy City say the organization has already decided to move on from defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. In his past two meetings with the Bears, Brees has completed 55-of-72 passes for 558 yards with five TDs for a 121.2 rating. OVERALL ANALYSIS Both of these teams look like their off the rails but the Saints have one thing they can lean on and thats Brees, who has continued to perform at a pretty high level despite his teams struggles. Conversely, the Bears have a head coach who looks overmatched, an offensive coordinator leaking things like a shady politician, a defensive chief on his way out the door and a quarterback whose body language ties all of that nonsense up into a bow. Sports Network predicted outcome: Saints 23, Bears 20 Jonathan Toews Jersey . The 10-horse field of 3-year-old pacers will leave the starting gate at approximately 10:14pm et. Co-owned and trained by David Menary, Hes Watching will be driven by Tim Tetrick and is the 5-1 fourth selection in the field. Stan Mikita Jersey . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. http://www.officialblackhawksfanstore.c ... ks-jersey/. Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Patrick Sharp Jersey . Or, for that matter, the aged. Connor Murphy Jersey . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five.Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Johansen was credited with the game winner in the shootout, and Columbus recovered from a Pittsburgh rally late in regulation to post a 4-3 victory at Nationwide Arena. Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Jack Johnson scored for the Blue Jackets, who extended their season-high win streak to six games. Sergei Bobrovsky made 33 saves, then turned away Brandon Sutter in the games final segment to lock up the win. Kris Letang tallied twice, including the tying marker with less than 11 seconds to play for the Penguins, who also received a goal from Blake Comeau. Thomas Greiss stopped 24 pucks in 65 minutes of play but allowed two of three Columbus shooters to best him. Cam Atkinson and Johansen scored on the hosts first two attempts, while Letang kept the visitors in with a score on the Pens second try. Folignos backhander went wide of the net, but Sutters salvo was turned away to end the contest. Foligno slammed home a centering feed by Jenner from atop the crease just after the three-minute mark of the first to cap the games first power play. The Pens escaped unharmed after Patric Hornqvist and Letang committed minors 1:12 apart early in the second which gave the Jackets 48 seconds of 5-on-3 play. Craig Adams had a prime chance to put the visitors on the board with 5 1/2 minutes left in the period, but he shot high annd wide at a half-open net from the right side as Bobrovsky couldnt scramble fast enough to get into position.dddddddddddd Comeau did pull his club even with 4:54 left, scoring from the outer edge of the left circle on a shot which an unscreened Bobrovsky could have stopped if he was tighter to the near post. Letangs backhander to finish a 2-on-1 short-handed rush with Adams hit the net at 7:22 of the third period. Jenner was awarded a penalty shot with 7:55 left in regulation when Pittsburghs Simon Despres dragged him down on a breakaway, and the former tied the game on a quick wrister. Johnsons shot from the left circle with 2:11 on the clock put the hosts ahead, and the lead seemed safe until Letang forced overtime when his rip from the left-wing boards beat Bobrovsky to the far side with 10.9 showing. Game Notes Columbus snapped a five-game regular season losing skid to Pittsburgh since the clubs were placed in the Metropolitan Division prior to the start of last season ... The teams meet for the second of four matchups in the Steel City on Feb. 19 ... Penguins captain Sidney Crosby sat out a second straight game with an undisclosed illness which has not been confirmed as mumps ... Prior to the contest, the Penguins recalled forward Bobby Farnham from Wilkes- Barre/Scranton of the AHL. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '