Bear Digest

Bears defense slowly regains parts with one to go for postseason

Coach Ben Johnson has high hopes for slot cornerback Kyler Gordon's return from a groin injury for the playoffs, to continue the Bears' defensive improvement.
Gene Chamberlain|
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings tries to elude Kyler Gordon in last year's Bears road loss.
49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings tries to elude Kyler Gordon in last year's Bears road loss. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears are trending in the right direction defensively, and Ben Johnson on Monday revealed something suspected but not verified for the past few weeks.

After getting linebacker Tremaine Edmunds back last week, they could get slot cornerback Kyler Gordon back for a defensive lineup nearly full strength going into the playoffs.

The only defensive starter they'd be missing then is defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon and won't return until next season.

"I think we are getting healthier and healthier," Johnson said. "It was good to get Tremaine back. He was knocking off just a little bit of rust. Jaylon (Johnson) keeps getting better each week. Grady's (Jarrett) a guy that has played some really good football over the last month, he keeps ascending and he's coming off a minor injury there earlier in the season.

"You do feel the health starting to return to us. It'd be great to get Kyler back potentially in the postseason as well."

Specifically regarding Gordon, who is on IR until the regular season ends, Johnson did leave it up in the air. However, he was the one who brought it up, the trend is positive, and a four-week stay for the injury is exactly what Edmunds had for a similar injury.

“We'll see where it's going," Johnson said. "He'll be down for four weeks and we'll kind of assess it as we go here. We were always hopeful of that."

The fourth week of IR would end with the finale at Soldier Field against Detroit. If the Bears secure top seed in the NFC, they'd have an extra week for Gordon to recover with a first-round playoff bye.

Gordon's return would be most welcome, especially because of the  injury to replacement slot cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

The defense's effectiveness has continued to pick up over the last five to six weeks as injured players returned. At one time, the Bears were without seven defensive starters and three key backups.

They've given up 20 points or less in five of their last seven games  and 16 or less in three of the last four. Their pass defense has allowed 182.1 yards in the last six games.

The run defense's 192 yards allowed to Green Bay was their second-worst effort of the year, but 51 of the yards did come from quarterbacks. Running from QBs has been a problem for the Bears, who are susceptible to this with all the man-to-man defense they play.

Still, even their pass rush has made an impact thanks to Montez Sweat, who has 9 1/2 sacks. Of those, 8 1/2 came in the last 10 games.

"Montez is a guy, I think since the bye week, he's playing some of the best ball of his career," Johnson said. "He would probably tell you the same thing. He's one of our most consistent run defenders and he's been ramping up slowly but surely.

"He’s had a sack a game it almost feels like since the bye and a guy that we can consistently count on to win one-on-one matchups and pressure the quarterback. I feel really strongly about the way he's playing right now. I feel really strongly about the person too. I love seeing him in the building. He's one of the many that they haven't really experienced what we're experiencing right now, where it's not just winning football, but a chance at the postseason and playing meaningful games down the stretch like this.”

The last part starting to come together for the Bears defense as it pieces things back together is just playing together and communicating on the field. It's a blend with high hopes of reaching a higher level of play at exactly the right time of the season.

“I think chemistry goes a long way," Edmunds said. "Anytime you have guys in and out, it is about building that bond, it’s about building those reps and how one person may see something different, how the other person may see something and it's about just getting back on the same page.

"I think that's normal for anybody. Anytime a person or a couple people's been out for a while, it's about getting back in, feeling comfortable, obviously different injuries from guys. So it's about them getting comfortable into their bodies again and doing the things that we know that everybody could do.”

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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.