CHICAGO (AP) — Robbie Gould and the Chicago Bears handed Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints another devastating loss at Soldier Field.

Gould kicked the tying field goal at the end of regulation and booted a 35-yarder in overtime to lift the Chicago Bears to a 27-24 victory on Thursday night, giving their playoff hopes a boost.

After leaving Chicago with season-ending losses the past two years, the Saints looked as if they were ready to end that trend. Instead, their slim playoff hopes took another blow.

Brees hit Marques Colston for an 11-yard touchdown pass with just over 3 minutes left in regulation to give New Orleans its first lead at 24-21 but Gould’s 28-yard field goal as time expired sent the game to overtime.

The Bears won the coin toss, and got another big break when the Saints’ Roman Harper bumped Devin Hester on a deep pass down the middle to set Chicago up at the 15. After Kyle Orton stumbled back and put the ball in the middle of the field, Gould ended it with a 35-yarder.

The Bears still need plenty of help to reach the postseason.

‘‘Bottom line for us, we’re still in the hunt,’’ Chicago’s Lance Briggs said.

The Bears (8-6) are a half-game behind NFC North leader Minnesota, but the Vikings hold the tiebreaker. Chicago also is a half-game out of a wild-card spot.

It was another rough night in Chicago for New Orleans (7-7), which lost the NFC championship game here two years ago and saw its slim postseason hopes vanish with a loss on the final day last season at Soldier Field. The last-place Saints still have a shot at the wild card but can forget about catching NFC South leader Carolina.

Brees, challenging Dan Marino’s single-season yards passing record, was 24-of-43 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He looked more like himself late in the game after a miserable first half. Harassed by the defense, Brees was just 10-of-24 with 93 yards and a 49.5 rating in the first two quarters as Chicago grabbed a 21-7 lead.

With their second straight win and third in four games, the Bears finally appear to be hitting their stride after a convincing 23-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday. They’ll try to make it three in a row — something they haven’t done since the 2006 Super Bowl season — at Green Bay a week from Monday.

Chicago native and Illinois product Pierre Thomas started the Saints’ comeback with a 42-yard touchdown run that made it 21-14 with 3:44 left in the third. Josh Bullucks set up the score, intercepting an Orton pass when it deflected off wide receiver Rashied Davis.

Glenn Pakulak kicked a 30-yard field goal with just over 9 minutes left to set the stage for Brees’ go-ahead pass to Colston.

Thomas finished with 87 yards rushing and 59 receiving.

Chicago got a scare early when Matt Forte limped to the sideline with a toe injury after his first attempt — a run for no gain on the left side. He finished with 34 yards rushing and 29 receiving.

Orton was 24-of-40 with 172 yards and two interceptions.

The Saints got a boost before the game when a judge in Minnesota extended his injunction against the suspensions of Will Smith, Deuce McAllister and Charles Grant along with the Vikings’ Kevin Williams and Pat Williams for violating the NFL’s anti-doping policy.

Smith started at defensive end. McAllister was inactive and Grant (torn triceps) is on injured reserve.

But in the end, the Saints got more bad news in Chicago — a place where they’ve experienced their share of frustration in recent years.

Last season, the Bears were already out of playoff contention when they beat New Orleans 33-25 in the final game, wiping out any chance the Saints had at the postseason.

Two years ago, the Bears scored the first 16 points and ran away with a 39-14 win after the Saints pulled within two, thanks to an assist from Reggie Bush. He pointed at Brian Urlacher and performed a celebratory flip as he crossed the goal line with an 88-yard touchdown catch, waking up Chicago’s defense.

Bush, who missed last year’s game with an injury, was a non-factor this time.