Bear Digest

Bears defense finds big-play leakage tough to stop for a few reasons

Chicago's defense gives up more explosive plays than any defense in the league, and is searching for answers after a rough game with Green Bay.
Gene Chamberlain|
Green Bay's Christian Watson outraces Bears DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson for a touchdown in Sunday's 28-21 Bears loss.
Green Bay's Christian Watson outraces Bears DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson for a touchdown in Sunday's 28-21 Bears loss. | Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

It's starting to seem like Dennis Allen's mirrors are all broken and the fire creating all of his smoke has been extinguished.

For weeks on end since the Bears defense encountered repeated defensive injuries, they still stayed in games with their defensive coordinator's disguised coverages, good play by subs, takeaways, and by preventing longer touchdowns.

In recent games, they're hemorrhaging bigger chunk plays. It reached a peak in Sunday's 28-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The reason for the problem is their use of high-risk tactics because they must counter their lack of a pass rush and also the personnel shortage.

The touchdown on a 45-yard pass from Jordan Love to Bo Melton just before halftime still eats away at the Bears.

Big-play Bears problems

“Just in general, 1:14 left on the clock a before half, we can't allow a touchdown," coach Ben Johnson said. "Our guys know that. It’s something that we're going to address and clean up.

"In that particular coverage there were some elements on the back end, I'm not going to get into specifics thereT that we felt like we could do a better job of taking that ball away. Like I said, I'm not going to get into specifics on what that thing should look like. I think that's for our guys in house here, but we can defend that play better.”

Going into the game, the Bears had slipped to the worst percentage of explosive plays allowed in the league at 7.5%, according to Sharp Football Analytics. Explosive plays are runs of 10 yards or longer and passes of 20 yards or longer.

Only the Commanders and Bengals had been allowing more than the Bears' average of 6.1 yards per play. At the same time, Sharp has Chicago's defensive line producing the second-lowest rate of pressure on quarterbacks.

Giving up eight plays of 15 yard or longer to the Packers isn't going to help their situation.

An 8-for-12 disaster on third downs also damaged the defense. They had rated among league leaders on third downs much of the season but have slipped to 14th at 39.29%.

Two explosive touchdowns by Green Bay came on third downs.

Possibly the worst third-down play by the Bears' defense wasn't on a pass but a run during Green Bay's game-winning drive.

On third-and-2 at the Bears 28, the Packers tried a Josh Jacobs run around the right side and it was properly diagnosed. Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter and two others had Jacobs trapped behind the line to force field goal, but no one actually tackled him and the 21-yard set up Jacobs' 2-yard game-winning touchdown run, also on a third-down play.

"It's definitely a critical down for us to get that stop and for us to get off the field," Bears linebacker D'Marco Jackson said. "So, it's definitely a play you wish you can have back. Just an opportunity to learn from, better technique and things like that.”

Browns find bigger passes

The problems with explosive plays come at a bad time, because Cleveland on Sunday brings in a quarterback in Shedeur Sanders who seems to have figured out how to produce those. He's been especially dangerous against man-to-man defenses, like the Bears favor playing.

In two of Sanders' three starts, he has averaged more than 9 yards a pass attempt.

“They're a team now that has named their starting quarterback and they're starting to push the ball down field more," Jackson said. "So for us, eliminating the points before half at the third down stop. On other critical third downs, getting off the field more, giving our offensive a chance to go score.”

The offense is under greater pressure to score now, with the defense leaking so badly.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.