Bear Digest

Pressure Is Nice But Bears Look for Takeaways

The pass rush pressure Thursday night on Bryce Young encouraged the Bears but it's the football they're after.
Gene Chamberlain|
Pressure Is Nice But Bears Look for Takeaways
Pressure Is Nice But Bears Look for Takeaways

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Chicago Bears

The increase in Bears pass rush pressure since Montez Sweat came on board became a bit more obvious in Thursday night's 16-13 Bears win over Carolina.

The degree to which just depends on which analytics website you're following. Pro Football Focus gave Sweat seven pressures and NextGen Stats said eight. Either way, it's a significant step up for an individual on their line for this kind of consistent heat on a passer.

"I mean, that's what we wanted to do," Sweat said. "We wanted to run at Bryce Young a little bit."

NextGen called it the most pressures they've tracked in a game from a single Bears pass rusher since Robert Quinn in Week 13 of 2020, which was the year before Quinn's Bears-record 18 1/2-sack season.

While Sweat didn't get an actual sack, he definitely achieved tangible pressure. A hurry is when a passer either throws before he wants to or is flushed out of the pocket and Sweat had four of these instances, three when he flushed Young out of the pocket and he threw away the ball to avoid being sacked.

"He is really starting to free guys up, which is what a good rusher does," Eberflus said. "Really (it) starts to free guys up on the inside, on the other side because he draws attention just the way he rushes.

"Again, I think his impact is going to be more and more as we go."

The multiplier effect Bears coach Matt Eberflus has talked about seems in order, as well. Yannick Ngakoue had four pressures, Justin Jones and Gervon Dexter three each and Kyler Gordon had two with blitzes.

Two games with Sweat playing represented their best back-to-back games for pressures this season with 17 in each one.

They had something in mind beyond sacks.

"Overall we were just trying to get some turnovers," Jaylon Johnson said.

While they failed on this level, the pressure seemed there to force them going forward. Sweat was encouraged by seeing the heat pick up over his first game.

"I definitely am," Sweat said. "All hats to the ball. Flus talks about all the guys getting to the ball.

"I think we're going to be a great defense. We've just got to start generating some turnovers."

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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.

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