Derek Carr and the New Orleans Saints have a chance to turn a corner in their up-and-down season and reassert themselves as a leading contender in the NFC South.

The next test for New Orleans (4-4) comes Sunday in the Superdome against the struggling Chicago Bears (2-6), who’ll again play without injured starting quarterback Justin Fields and who also fired an offensive assistant coach this week.

The roster and staff upheaval in Chicago could bode well for the Saints, but that’s not the way Carr sees it. His focus is on a Bears defense which ranks third in the NFL against the run and might be better against the pass after acquiring defensive end Montez Sweat from Washington before this week’s NFL trade deadline.

The Bears rank 30th against the pass, which can be hard to stop when quarterbacks aren’t feeling pressure. Chicago’s 10 sacks rank last in the NFL — no other team has fewer than 15. Sweat has 6 1/2 sacks this season and 35 1/2 in his 4 1/2 NFL seasons.

Meanwhile, the Saints offense has started to take off — at least statistically — in recent weeks.

New Orleans has gained more than 400 yards in three straight games, with Carr passing for more than 300 yards each time. But the Saints lost the first two games in that stretch because of repeatedly squandered scoring chances deep in opponents’ territory.

With Fields sidelined because of a dislocated right thumb, rookie Tyson Bagent is set to make his third straight start.

The undrafted rookie from Division II Shepherd University in his home state of West Virginia has been a fun story. But his results are mixed.

Bagent delivered a solid performance in a win over the Las Vegas Raiders. But he had some rough moments against the Los Angeles Chargers last week. Bagent is 56 of 80 for 477 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions and a 73.8 passer rating since Fields was injured in the third quarter of a Week 6 loss to Minnesota.

The Bears had quite a week.

In addition to acquiring Sweat from Washington for a 2024 second-round pick, they hung onto cornerback Jaylon Johnson after letting him explore deals with other teams.

On Wednesday, they fired running backs coach David Walker, leaving them down two assistants after defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned in September.

Johnson, meanwhile, said he was surprised he was still with the Bears. He and general manager Ryan Poles remain in a standoff with his rookie deal set to expire.

Sweat also has an expiring deal. And if he gets an extension before Johnson, things could get real interesting.

Game time is noon Sunday.