NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- The New Orleans Saints made it a rough afternoon for Kordell Stewart in his homecoming.
Aaron Brooks threw a pair of touchdown passes and the Saints scored 10 points off a pair of fumbles by Stewart and ended a three-game skid with a 20-13 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Stewart, a former high school player of the year in New Orleans, was sacked three times. He lost fumbles twice on possessions that bookended each half and led to points for New Orleans.
Stewart's first miscue came when he was sacked by Charles Grant. Fellow defensive end Willie Whitehead recovered the fumble to set up John Carney's 30-yard field goal for a 6-3 halftime edge.
"If you turn the ball over, you keep the other team in the game and that's what happened today," Stewart said. "That ball was just knocked out of my hand and there was nothing you could really do about it."
On Chicago's first possession of the second half, Stewart was dropped by cornerback Fred Thomas and lost control of the ball. Rookie defensive end Melvin Williams pounced on it at the Bears 12-yard line.
Three plays later, Brooks found tight end Ernie Conwell for a nine-yard touchdown and a 13-3 advantage just under three minutes into the third quarter.
"This was a win that we desperately needed," Brooks said. "This kept us from getting in too deep a hole, and it gave us some more confidence."
Stewart's four-yard touchdown pass to Dez White pulled the Bears within 20-13 with 2:10 remaining. Paul Edinger's onsides kick went out of the bounds and New Orleans picked up one first down before running out the clock.
Deuce McAllister carried 29 times for 116 yards to lead New Orleans. It was McAllister's third straight 100-yard effort.
"It's a W," McAllister said. "That's about it. We made too many mistakes to be proud of this win. We made too many mistakes to be overjoyed with this win."
McAllister's comments echoed those of coach Jim Haslett, who was not happy about the uneven performance.
"We had six penalties in the first half and three dropped balls," Haslett said. "The great teams do not do those things so we need to eliminate those things. We overcame them today. We have things we have to clean up and if we clean those things up, we will score more."
Chicago's offense managed just 22 yards on its first three drives. Its only sustained offense in the first half was an eight-play, 68-yard march that ended in Edinger's 28-yard kick, forging a 3-3 tie with 7:40 remaining.
"To see those guys give up only six points until the last two minutes of the game was outstanding," Brooks said. "They should be credited and rewarded for how they played today."
Stewart finished 10-of-21 for 152 yards and was sacked three times. He also had the ball snapped over his head by center Olin Kreutz in the first quarter and recovered it for a 22-yard loss.
The Bears' Anthony Thomas fell just shy of his third straight 100-yard game with 96 on 21 carries.
"It's a very disappointing game," Bears coach Dick Jauron said. "It was there for the taking in the second half and we just didn't take it. We didn't get it done."
Stewart got into a groove in the second half and found White with a pair of passes for 25 yards on a 14-play, 62-yard drive that took eight minutes off the clock. That drive took the Bears to the Saints' 12 before Thomas was corralled in the backfield and Stewart threw a pair of incompletions.
Edinger's 31-yard kick cut the deficit to 13-6.
"We made some plays towards the end," Stewart said. "I wished we had done that earlier. I played so-so, it wasn't good in my opinion by my standards."
New Orleans responded with its longest drive of the game, marching 70 yards and leaving Chicago's defense on the field for six minutes. Brooks was 5-of-9 for 60 yards, including a six-yard TD to Joe Horn for a 20-6 advantage with 7:18 to go.
Grant came up with a pair of sacks and five tackles.
"When it comes, it comes in bunches," Grant said. "We had a good game, but we have to go out there and do it again."
Chicago has lost 10 straight road games since a 14-13 victory at Atlanta on September, 15, 2002. The Bears have lost 16 of their last 19 games.
