The Chicago Bears led 27-26 with less than 2 minutes remaining Monday night at Heinz Field, needing one final stop to sneak out of Pittsburgh with a come-from-behind victory. Instead, the Steelers marched 52 yards in seven plays, kicked a 40-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining and extended the Bears’ losing streak to four games.
For the second consecutive week, the defense’s inability to close out a winnable game stung.
“It comes down to someone needing to make a play,” inside linebacker Roquan Smith said. “Do your job. That’s all it comes down to. And that’s all it ever will come down to.”
The Bears are now more than a month removed from their last victory and will carry their losing streak into the bye week and beyond. The team’s playoff chances are fading fast. The 3-6 Bears are four games behind the Green Bay Packers in the NFC North. Seven teams currently stand between the Bears and the conference’s No. 7 seed.
But just past the midpoint of the season, there still is a lot of football remaining. And the Bears have to find ways to improve and remain relevant over the final eight weeks.
Here’s a look at the Bears defense through nine games.
What’s working?
The pass rush has been much improved this season with the Bears ranking in the top five in the league with 25 sacks through Week 9. Over the first five weeks, the Bears led the league with 18 sacks.
But then came a three-game stretch with zero sacks and only one quarterback hit.
Sure, games against future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady always present different challenges to a pass rush. But the Bears have to work to remain disruptive and seemed to rediscover their edge Monday night with four sacks on Ben Roethlisberger.
That’s a little something to build on if first-year coordinator Sean Desai can continue to press the right buttons. The Bears finished tied-for 24th in the NFL in 2019 with 32 sacks and 17th in 2020 (35). So the ascent in the sacks category this season is encouraging.
The Bears obviously would love to see their degree-of-difficulty rating come down in regards to the opposing quarterbacks they’ll face down the stretch. But they’ll come out of the bye week with a game against 2019 MVP Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens and follow two weeks later with current MVP candidate Kyler Murray and his Arizona Cardinals. The week after that? A rematch against Rodgers. And on Christmas weekend, the Bears will head to Seattle to face Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.
In other words, the pass rush will have to hum if the defense is going to keep the team competitive.
What’s not?
The Bears defense spent much of training camp this summer trying to fill up a newly-created “Takeaway Bucket,” a novelty introduced by Desai and enthusiastically embraced by defensive players. But there have not been nearly enough deposits this season.
The Bears had their best defensive game of the season in Week 2 when they came up with takeaways on four consecutive second-half possessions — and hosted an end-zone party for Smith’s 53-yard interception return. But on the other 88 defensive possessions this season, the Bears have come up with only four takeaways and haven’t had a game with multiple takeaways since Week 4 against the Detroit Lions.
The Bears are tied for 23rd in the league in interceptions with four. Their defensive backs only have two picks, one each from Jaylon Johnson and DeAndre Houston-Carson.
Reliable player
Robert Quinn’s first-quarter sack of Roethlisberger on Monday night was a thing of beauty with the 31-year-old outside linebacker torching left tackle Dan Moore around the edge with a speed rush. After Quinn smothered Roethlisberger for a loss of 5, Khalil Mack voiced his approval on Twitter.
“Robbbbbbbbbbb!!!!!” Mack tweeted.
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Quinn was primarily responsible for Bilal Nichols’ fourth-quarter sack as well, beating Moore while being illegally held and still grabbing Roethlisberger’s ankle as Nichols closed in.
Indeed, Quinn’s resurgence has been one of the most impressive and surprising developments this season. He has 61/2 sacks for the season, placing him 11th in the league in that category.
Not bad. Even better, when you consider Quinn had only two sacks in the 15 games he played in 2020.
Quinn not only has been harassing opposing quarterbacks on a consistent basis, he has been playing with infectious passion and hustle, helping to set a tone for a defense that is attempting to rediscover its edge.
Since training camp, Quinn has talked openly about his refreshed mindset and has insinuated he was too hard on himself during his struggles last season. He said a nagging back injury slowed him significantly in 2020 as well.
After a Week 4 home victory over the Lions, Quinn expressed appreciation for how reinvigorated he has felt.
“Honestly,” he said, “I’m just mentally and spiritually happy. I took some time for myself this offseason to put myself in a better mind state. I talked to some good friends and pastors and got myself mentally and spiritually right. I brushed off all the nonsense of last year. All that weight I was holding onto is done and over with.”
Second-half question: Will Mack play again this season?
Mack was off to an encouraging start, recording three sacks in his first three games before suffering a foot injury against the Cleveland Browns. Even immediately after that, despite minimal practice time, he continued to make an impact with three more sacks over the next four games.
But Mack has been inactive the last two weeks and the Bears will come out of their bye in Week 10 looking to see whether they can get their standout pass rusher back on the field. If not, a trip to injured reserve remains in the discussion.
For the defense to be at its best, Mack’s presence is required. But with the Bears at 3-6 and going nowhere fast, the urgency to get their best defensive player back on the field in 2021 has to be balanced with an eye on what he means to the team’s future beyond this season.
Mack is as tough as they come and has missed only four games over his eight-season career. His urge to get back into action won’t dissipate. But the Bears also have to remain careful with their approach and make practical decisions.
Best-case scenario
Mack returns and has no setbacks. Eddie Jackson makes a full recovery from the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 8. Akiem Hicks remains available and keeps pushing to give the Bears his best. The defense gets as close to full strength as it can for the stretch run and rediscovers its imposing identity.
If the pass rush can pick up a bit, more opportunities should be coming for Bears defensive backs to up their interception total. Splash plays are needed. But the Bears still have high-level playmakers across the defense who can change games.
Worst-case scenario
Mack winds up on IR, Jackson needs significant time to recover and the injury issues persist. On top of that, after allowing an average of 122.8 rushing yards per game through nine games (23rd in the NFL), the Bears’ inability to consistently stop the run remains an issue.
The lack of takeaways becomes a bigger problem and the defense remains ordinary in getting off the field on third down and inside the red zone.
Given opportunities to win games, the defense doesn’t rise to the challenge, similar to what happened in losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Steelers before the bye week. With five or six more losses, changes are called for at Halas Hall and a new regime is brought in to reassess everything from scheme to coaching to personnel. Just like that, a championship window that seemed to open in 2018 slams shut.
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