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September 23, 2002
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Saints wouldn't go away Sunday, even when it appeared they would be blown out.
That's why they're unbeaten.
"It's tough when you're down 20-0, especially in the NFL," quarterback Aaron Brooks said after the Saints rallied to beat the Bears 29-23. "We were lucky we didn't get blown out. We could have been down 28-0 at the half."
Instead, the Saints got back in the game by scoring two touchdowns in a 58-second span in the second quarter and pulled it out when Donte' Stallworth made a great move to score on a 29-yard pass from Brooks with 1:11 left.
Sammy Knight stopped a last-second Bears drive by intercepting Jim Miller's pass at the goal line. Chicago had won its 12 previous games decided by a touchdown or less.
"It shouldn't have come down to the way it did," Miller said.
"The play didn't develop. If you let it develop any longer the clock runs out, so either I've got to throw it out of the end zone or throw it quick."
On the winning drive, Brooks had a 14-yard scramble and threw an 11-yard pass to Joe Horn to get to the Bears 31. On second down, Stallworth caught a pass near the sideline, got around defensive back Reggie Austin and coasted into the end zone to make it 27-23. Brooks then ran in for two points.
"They left me one-on-one on the corner and I got past him and then I wasn't stopping. I kind of knew he was going to miss his tackle because he jumped way outside," Stallworth said.
"He was my man. He ran an out route and I missed the tackle," said Austin, who had an interception in his first start. "I have to make that tackle. Nine times out of 10, I make that play."
The Bears drove to the Saints 18 on Miller's 19-yard pass to Marty Booker and, after Chicago used its final timeout, an 18-yarder to Dez White. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Miller threw into a crowd at the front of the end zone and Knight intercepted with two seconds left.
Trailing 20-0 after a host of mistakes, the Saints quickly regrouped with two touchdowns, the second after Chicago's Leon Johnson fumbled a kickoff.
"We came in at halftime down 20-14 and the guys knew we were going to win the game," New Orleans coach Jim Haslett said.
The Saints finally took the lead with an 84-yard drive to open the second half. Brooks threw a 24-yard pass to Jerome Pathon and capped the march with a 5-yard pass to Horn.
Paul Edinger's third field goal, a 25-yarder with 8:47 left, gave Chicago a 23-21 lead before Brooks led the Saints on a seven-play, 73-yard drive.
The Bears scored on four straight first-half possessions, three times after New Orleans turnovers.
Two fumble recoveries by rookie Bryan Knight led to field goals of 32 and 25 yards. Knight's second recovery came after Brooks raised his hand as the ball was snapped before he was ready. It gave the Bears the ball at the New Orleans 13 but they settled for a field goal.
Miller had a 10-yard scoring pass to White and a 22-yarder to Booker that put the Bears up 17-0.
But then Brooks and Deuce McAllister hooked up on 30-yard pass to start an eight-play, 84-yard drive capped by Brooks' 16-yard toss to Pathon.