Bears Host Saints; Pack Battles Lions; St. Louis Hosts Jags; NFL Notes

Oct 4, 2013 7:47 AM

>>Trestman Making Most of Opportunity With Bears

They had attended symposiums and talked football over lunch a few times, and when Marc Trestman was out of work, Sean Payton came through with an assist.

For that, the Bears' coach is grateful.

There probably won't be much time for reminiscing when Chicago takes on New Orleans at Soldier Field this weekend.

Trestman had just been fired after a two-year run as offensive coordinator at North Carolina State and was on a sort of sabbatical when he was hired as a consultant to Payton, the Saints' coach, for the 2007 season.

For Trestman, the consulting job was "an opportunity to have some dignity in my career."

>>Browns Dump Bills On Thursday Night Football

(Cleveland, OH) -- T.J. Ward's 44-yard interception return for a touchdown clinched the Browns 37-24 win over the Bills at the "Dog Pound." Cleveland scored 20 unanswered points to get to 3-and-2 and move into sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Brandon Weeden had to replace Brian Hoyer in the first quarter and threw for 197 yards and connected with Josh Gordon for a TD. The seriousness of Hoyer's knee injury isn't yet known. Travis Benjamin had a 79-yard punt return for a score and broke the Browns punt return record with 179 yards. Bills quarterback EJ Manuel also left with a knee injury and didn't return. Jeff Tuel was 8-for-20 and tossed for 80 yards with a pick after entering the game. C.J. Spiller ran for 54-yard TD and Fred Jackson reached the endzone twice. Buffalo is 2-and-3.

>>Saints Battle Bears In Chicago

(Chicago, IL) -- Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints put their undefeated mark on the line Sunday in Chicago as they battle the Bears at Solider Field. New Orleans has outscored its last two opponents 69-24, including Monday's 38-17 victory over the previously unbeaten Miami Dolphins. Brees ranks second in the NFL, behind only Peyton Manning, with 1,434 yards passing. He has 10 touchdowns and four interceptions for a quarterback rating of 103.8. Main target Jimmy Graham is tied for the league lead with six TD catches. The Bears are coming off their first setback of the season, a 40-32 loss at Detroit in Week Four. Jay Cutler had his worst outing of the year with four turnovers. The Saints beat the Bears 30-13 in the most recent matchup in New Orleans in 2011.

>>Packers Host NFC North-Leading Lions Sunday

(Green Bay, WI) -- The Green Bay Packers look to get on track when they host the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Packers lost 34-30 at Cincinnati in Week Three to stumble into their bye week at 1-and-2. Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 1,057 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions this season. Rodgers should get a weapon back this week. Rookie running back Eddie Lacy will likely return after sitting out Week Three with a concussion. The Packers are averaging 455 yards of offense per game this season, which ranks third in the NFL. The Lions beat the Bears 40-32 last Sunday to take over first place in the division at 3-and-1. Detroit's offense ranks sixth in the league with an average of 405 yards per game. Matthew Stafford is fourth in the NFL with 1,262 passing yards. He has thrown for seven TD's and three picks so far this year. The Packers have dominated the series of late, winning four straight and 14 of the last 15 overall.

>>Jaguars, Rams Meet In St. Louis

(St. Louis, MO) -- Two of the NFL's worst square off in St. Louis on Sunday as the Rams and Jaguars battle at the Edward Jones Dome. Jacksonville is one of three 0-and-4 teams left and earlier in the week traded away starting left tackle Eugene Monroe to the Ravens for draft picks. Luke Joeckel, who the Jags drafted with the number-two overall pick in the 2013 draft, is set to shift to protect quarterback Blaine Gabbert's blindside. Wide receiver Justin Blackmon returns from his four-week suspension. Jacksonville has been outscored 129-to-31 this season. St. Louis is in the midst of a three-game losing streak after winning Week One against the Cardinals. They've surrendered over 30 points in each of the last three loses, including a 35-11 smack down at the hands of the 49ers in Week Four.

>>Panthers, Giants Agree On Beason Trade

(Undated) -- The Carolina Panthers and New York Giants have worked out a deal for linebacker Jon Beason. NFL.com reports the trade is pending a physical. The Panthers will receive a late-round draft pick in return. Beason has had trouble staying on the field recently after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2011 season opener. The former first-round selection out of Miami-Florida started all 16 games during his first four seasons in Carolina, but he has only played in eight games since his injury in 2011. In three games this year, Beason has 11 tackles. The 28-year-old was named to three straight Pro Bowls from 2008-10.

>>Buccaneers Cut Josh Freeman

(Tampa, FL) -- Josh Freeman's time in Tampa is officially over. After trying to trade the recently-demoted quarterback, the Buccaneers have cut the former first-round pick. Tampa Bay's decision to part ways means the team will ultimately eat more than six-million-dollars of Freeman's remaining salary. In 60 career games, Freeman has thrown for over 13-thousand yards, 80 touchdowns and 66 interceptions. Freeman was benched in favor of Mike Glennon this past Sunday, but the Bucs lost 13-10 to the Arizona Cardinals to fall to 0-and-4.