New Orleans Saints inside linebacker David Hawthorne (57) tackles Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
CHICAGO – David Hawthorne’s primary duties as a linebacker for the Saints are to defend run plays or cover intermediate pass routes. He isn’t usually a pass rusher.
But, in their 31-15 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field on Monday night, the Saints dialed up more blitzes than perhaps many expected. And no one individual benefitted more from that than Hawthorne did.
Hawthorne registered a career-high three sacks at Chicago (5-9) in three separate drives that all resulted in punts. Not only did that match the number of sacks the seven-year pro had in all of 2013, his second season in New Orleans (6-8). Not only did that increase his career sack total by more than 33 percent, from nine to 12. But it was the first time since he was a Seattle Seahawk in 2009 that Hawthorne had more than one sack in a game.
For Hawthorne personally, Monday was gratifying in the stat-padding department.
“My high before was like two sacks,” Hawthorne said through a chuckle.
But Hawthorne was happier for the part it played for a defense that dropped Bears quarterback Jay Cutler behind the line of scrimmage seven times and picked off three of his passes. Junior Galette (two), Akiem Hicks and John Jenkins had the remaining sacks for the Saints.
“We were … not even close to being an offense that could compete through four quarters,” Bears coach Marc Trestman glumly said afterward.
Nonetheless, the Bears’ lackluster outing resulted in arguably the best performance by a unit that’s given up the second-most yards in the NFL through 14 games and was gashed for almost 500 yards in a 31-point loss at home to Carolina on Dec. 7.
“It’s a good feeling,” said Hawthorne, who also tackled running back Matt Forte for a loss 2 yards in the first quarter. “We’ve had a bunch of sour feelings coming into the locker room when we go out and we didn’t do exactly what we came to do. I feel like tonight we did a better job of executing.”
The Saints can now clinch their division and a playoff berth as long as two things happen: they beat Atlanta (5-9) in New Orleans on Sunday and Carolina (5-8-1) loses to Cleveland (7-7).