The Bears don't look particularly good in their opening round playoff game on Sunday. They're the week's biggest underdog (9.5 points), which makes sense since they were just an 8-8 team; the Saints went 12-4. Chicago seems very likely to make a quick exit. But before that happens, Allen Robinson should deliver a pretty good week.
New Orleans has a very good defense, but it was more of an average group against the pass. (Better than that statistically over the full season, but helped a lot by one game against a practice squad wide receiver playing quarterback; Denver passed for just 13 yards in that game.) And opposing No. 1 wideouts, like Robinson (the league's 3rd-most targeted player), did very well against the Saints.
There were six games where there was a clear, go-to receiver in an offense against the Saints this season, including Robinson himself. Five of those guys scored, and four put up at least 87 yards. We're also including both No. 1 type wideouts from the Falcons (when they were available; Jones missed a game) and Vikings, all four of whom were very good in those games.
| NO. 1 WRs VS. NEW ORLEANS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD |
| Allen, LAC | 2 | 29 | 1 |
| Lazard, G.B. | 6 | 146 | 1 |
| Robinson, Chi. | 6 | 87 | 1 |
| Aiyuk, S.F. | 7 | 75 | 1 |
| Ridley, Atl. | 5 | 90 | 0 |
| Jones, Atl. | 6 | 94 | 0 |
| Ridley, Atl. | 5 | 108 | 0 |
| Hill, K.C. | 6 | 53 | 1 |
| Thielen, Minn. | 8 | 97 | 1 |
| Jefferson, Minn. | 6 | 85 | 0 |
Keenan Allen got hurt early on in the Chargers game (but scored anyway on his limited snaps). Davante Adams missed the Green Bay game (making Lazard the clear No. 1), and Julio Jones missed most of one Falcons game (making Ridley the clear No. 1 that week).
Chicago seems unlikely to win this week, but it's a fine situation for Robinson. He faced the Saints a year ago, as well (another Bears loss), and caught 10 balls for 87 yards and a score. I'll have some playoff lineups this week, and I suspect Robinson will be well-represented.
--Andy Richardson