A Hidden Gem in Defensive Effort Bears Repeating

For once the Bears defense covered all the bases although this was a bit hard to tell, and they'll need to do more of it against the Rams and beyond

With all due respect to both the Bears defense and Carolina running back Mike Davis, there is still much for Roquan Smith, Bilal Nichols and Co. to prove.

The only significant flaw in the Bears defense going into last week's 23-16 win over Carolina had been an inability to stop the run.

They had played sporadically against the run as they tried to get past not having nose tackle Eddie Goldman available, shutting off teams at times during points in games but allowing occasional big runs. They knew this.

"We have to believe in the people that we have in this building and continue to push them forward and watch their progress," was how Akiem Hicks put it when asked about how they adjusted to not having Goldman.

The hidden gem for the defense behind the four sacks, three takeaways and their bend-but-don't-break philosophy in action again was they finally stopped the run.

As a result, on Sunday they did come as close to looking like the Bears defense of 2018 as they have all year. The final rushing totals might not have reflected it, but this was deceiving.

"I was just talking to the defense coaches earlier this morning and you look at this and there is literally all of these guys on the team, different spots, different positions, different times throughout the games that they are all flying around and playing fast," coach Matt Nagy said. "They are just creating havoc. It's cool to see. It's across the board and you feel that."

The only problem is the Bears have not yet played against a team curently in the top 10 in rushing. The Panthers were 14th coming into the game. But this week they will see it because the Rams are 10th and also possess plenty of firepower in the passing game.

The Bears haven't played yet against a team currently ranked in the top 10 in yards per run, either. They'll have to face Tennessee, Green Bay twice, Minnesota twice, and they are ranked in the top 10 in both rushing categories.

Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan and Bilal Nichols in the heart of the Bears defense had a better game against the run than they've enjoyed all year. Smith was at 12 tackles including one for loss, Trevathan at a season-high 10 tackles and Nichols on the nose had three tackles, one for loss, a sack nearly for a safety and prevented a huge run with a shoestring tackle.

They managed to get backup nose John Jenkins back on the field for 15 plays as he recovers from a hand injury and the overall defensive effort against the run gave rise to hope they can become more than a bend-but-don't-break defense.

Although Mike Davis enjoyed some nice-sized runs early, the Bears shut off the run despite what the final statistics say. The 112 Panthers rushing yards came about largely from 48 yards on scrambles by Teddy Bridgewater. The running backs gained only 64 yards on 21 attempts.

This has to continue.

"We haven't played how we'd like to play in certain weeks but we're more so focused on building on the positive and continuing that throughout the year," Smith said. "I feel that the sky's the limit.

"We can just continue to build on the positives and get better from our negatives."

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven