What needs fixing on the Bears’ defense? It starts with the lack of a pass rush
Over the past few days, Chicago Bears players and coaches have tried to answer a common question at Halas Hall: What the heck happened in Detroit on Sunday?
Almost nothing went right for the Bears defensively in their 52-21 loss to the Lions. The 52 points Chicago gave up were the most points it’s allowed in a game since 2014. The Bears had no answers for the Lions’ offensive playmakers as they relished the opportunity to show they were more than just the Bears head coach and former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson’s system.
For some players and coaches, moments like Sunday can be a harsh reality check.
“When you have a game like we did on Sunday, man, it feels like the sky is falling, and that’s just to be real,” safety Kevin Byard said Thursday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. “I just try to always remind the guys not to get too high or too low. We faced two really good teams to start this year. Sometimes these things happen.”
For others, Sunday was just part of life in the NFL.
“I think if you’re in this league long enough, you’ve been in one of those types of games,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “And so you make the corrections that you need to make, and you come back in and you go to work, and that’s what you do. I mean, you get right back up on the horse, let’s go ride again. And so that’s what our guys are doing.”
As coaches and players said this week, there are plenty of issues to attack.
The obvious choice for many is the Bears’ pass rush. Chicago failed to record a sack in a game for the first time since 2023 against the Lions, which allowed Detroit quarterback Jared Goff to sit comfortably in the pocket and dice the Bears’ secondary. The Bears’ three sacks through two games rank tied for 25th in the NFL, while their nine quarterback hits are tied for 23rd.
Chicago hasn’t gotten much production from any part of the line. Top pass rusher Montez Sweat hasn’t recorded a sack and has one quarterback hit, while free-agent acquisition Dayo Odeyingbo has one sack and two quarterback hits. The interior of the line hasn’t helped much either, with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter leading the way with a sack and two quarterback hits.
The Bears said there are ways to boost the pass rush. They could create more time for the pass rush to get to the quarterback with better coverage. Chicago can also defend the run better earlier in drives to put the offense into obvious passing downs.
Veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said the Bears have been close to getting to the quarterback. They just need to learn from the first two games to get that final step.
“Though we didn’t get any sacks last week or a lot of hits, I think there was a lot of things that can challenge us, to push us over the edge, to get to where we need to be,” Jarrett said.
The other obvious defensive fix might not be as easy to resolve quickly.
Chicago’s secondary had a tough showing against the Lions and in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings in the season opener. The Lions’ offensive weapons found space throughout the day Sunday and also broke through for explosive plays.
Some of the struggles are because of injuries. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon missed time during training camp because of injuries, while backup cornerback Terell Smith is out for the season. Jaylon isn’t expected to return any time soon, and Gordon hasn’t practiced this week and is considered week-to-week.
But the Bears believe a lot of their secondary issues against the Lions were due to miscommunication. Byard said sometimes players didn’t execute the game plan because they tried to do too much, given the deficit later in the game.
For Byard, a lot of the issues were fixable.
“I think it’s really just honing back to the little things, the technique, the details in each call, and just going out there and playing ball and not trying to overdo things. And just go out there and just play with a clear mind and just know, trust what we’ve been doing since training camp,” Byard said.
What the defense will look like the next time the Bears take the field Sunday afternoon against the Dallas Cowboys remains to be seen. Players said they answered Ben Johnson’s challenge earlier this week with a couple of tough practices.
But the Cowboys will be a tough test. Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and he has plenty of targets to throw to and a revamped running game.
After a week of trying to answer what happened in Detroit, the Bears will get a chance to show what they learned Sunday.
“At the end of the day, it don’t matter what I say, what anybody says,” Jarrett said. “We got to go out there on the field and do what we need to do to put a better product out there.”