New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston (12) makes a touchdown catch against Chicago Bears cornerback Demontre Hurst (30) during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, in Chicago.CHICAGO — Drew Brees and the Saints found a cure for their problems — playing the Bears.
Brees threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, and New Orleans beat Chicago 31-15 on Monday night to grab the NFC South lead.
The Saints (6-8) moved into first place ahead of Carolina (5-8-1) and Atlanta (5-9) after losing four of their previous five games. They also rebounded from a 41-10 loss to the Panthers.
Brees completed 29 of 36 passes and reached the 4,000-yard mark for the ninth straight year. He threw two touchdown passes to Josh Hill and another to Marques Colston.
Pierre Thomas had five catches for 83 yards. David Hawthorne had three of New Orleans’ seven sacks and the Saints intercepted three of Jay Cutler’s passes to bring his NFL-leading turnover total to 24.