Rozner: Bears' defense ought to scare anyone

Akiem Hicks was so jacked up that he had trouble catching his breath.

Taking apart the best offense in the conference will do that to a large defensive lineman.

Hicks was almost apologetic after Sunday's game for his inability to slow down as he answered questions about the Bears' pounding of the Rams, a victory that was yet another gift from the defense.

But when one interrogator asked if the Bears' defense had turned some heads, Hicks changed his tone slightly.

“I thought we had been turning heads,” Hicks replied with a crooked glance, no malice aforethought. “Did we just get good?”

No, this has been happening all season.

“It's easy to be on the other side and say these things about how great I think our defense is,” Hicks said, “but I thought our defense was great during OTAs. I knew what we had.”

And that was long before Khalil Mack showed up.

For all of his mistakes, credit GM Ryan Pace for admitting his own inability over four years to find enough game-changers, and for going outside the organization to get a player who has turned the Bears into a legitimate Super Bowl threat.

It's easily the most significant move Pace has made to date.

In a league this bad, pressuring the quarterback can keep you in any game if your own QB can protect the football while you find some semblance of a running game.

And that's why it's crucial right now that Matt Nagy recognize his quarterback's limitations and display a willingness to win with a simple game plan.

There's no guarantee that the Bears will be back in this spot next year or the year after. It just doesn't work that way in today's NFL, so they have to maximize any opportunity they get.

And if you don't think this is a huge opportunity, you haven't been watching the rest of the league.

The concern among Bears fans is that the defense will turn against the offense, which has only happened every time the Bears have ever been good, and just as many times when they haven't been good.

The defense is doing its job and all it needs right now is for the offense to not give the football to the opposition.

After allowing the Rams 6 points, even with all of the Bears' turnovers, the defense would not bend.

“You never know how things are going to shake out, but do we play dominant?” Hicks asked. “Do we feel like we should be respected and feared?

“Yes.”

This is the correct answer. Thing is, they're getting better.

“I think we've had moments this year where we didn't finish and still came out on top,” Hicks said. “I think it finally hit home for us and we said, 'Man, we've been playing a great three quarters and given up some points in the fourth quarter.'

“Imagine how good our defense would be statistically if we didn't have the fourth quarter of the games we've had this year.

“That's the lesson I take away. I think a lot of guys felt that going into this game.”

As a football team, you have to know who you are and embrace what's working. It's how you get to the Super Bowl.

It doesn't seem in Nagy's nature to admit it, and he was hired to develop Mitch Trubisky so maybe he believes he has to try to win games through the air.

But after Trubisky's third interception in the third quarter Sunday night, Nagy altered his approach. The Bears had 12 more offensive plays and they ran the ball 12 times.

It was the smart thing to do.

They had a 15-6 lead and it was pretty obvious to everyone in the building that the Rams had no chance against the Bears' defense.

This NFL is so bad that you don't have to be great at everything to go a very long way, so be good at the things you're good at and play it smart.

Hicks is right that the league should fear the Bears' defense. How far it takes them might just be up to the offense.