Three Keys to Bears Win Over Falcons

Amid all the big Bears talk this week about shutting out Atlanta and Pro Bowls, a one-word description might have stood out as the most important to their chances of actually beating the Falcons at Soldier Field.

Montez Sweat was talking about Falcons starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke this week, and described his former Washington teammate as "gritty."

It's here where the Bears need to be concerned because their own offense is going to have problems scoring points against a ninth-ranked Falcons defense. Normally Atlanta's offense struggles mightily on the road, but Heinicke hasn't been the quarterback most of the year and his last game was a tremendous success, a 29-10 home-field win over Indianapolis last week.

A gritty quarterback is patient, doesn't make huge mistakes or take huge gambles and accepts there will be defeats within a game while keeping his focus on the big picture as he plows ahead.

This is exactly the kind of quarterback the Bears defense struggled against when they faced Joe Flacco, although he's more apt to hurt an opponent on a deeper pass because of his experience.

Flacco got picked off three times, sacked and sacked again but he kept coming and realized he had a defense doing the same damage to the Bears offense.

Heinicke has been this type of player in his career when given the chance to start. He once nearly pulled off an upset of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the playoffs this way.

The way to beat a QB like this is at his own game, by playing the long game, making him beat you underneath and force the offense to pay physically for its short games. You don't give up the big play like the Bears finally did against Flacco and force him to try to make them.

Eventually, their defense has to get Heinicke in a situation where he must do what he doesn't want to do and throw farther downfield to wide receivers, then take advantage.

It's the general approach their defense must have on a day when they'll be tested on the ground as well as with short passes to backs.

Here are the three keys to a Bears win over the Atlanta Falcons.

1. Gap Sound

With two good running backs Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier, the Falcons will keep testing the Bears on the ground. They're unlikely to abandon it the way some opponents did. They'll focus on getting the Bears out of their gaps, and also at keeping the secondary from being in position to provide run support.

"It takes everybody; in run defense it takes everybody," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "It takes the front four, of course, creating a new line of scrimmage (in the backfield), then it takes the linebackers taking off double teams, then the edge. The edge of it is the safeties, the force players, you know the corners and secondary force. Then keeping the big cup over the top of it so you don't give up explosives. That's the safeties and the rest of the secondary. It's all 11 of us. We have no house guests on defense. Everybody tackles, everybody hits and everybody plays the right way."

The Bears assembled the No. 1 run defense in the league by executing the way Eberflus described and not getting out of their gaps with gambles. Taking risks is a good way to lose against a team with a good run-blocking line and two backs who know how to use those blocks.

Only Detroit has gone over 100 yards rushing against the Bears since week 3 and the Lions broke a few runs because the Bears run defense was stretched to its limits worrying about the Lions' passing attack.

They shouldn't have that concern against the offense of Atlanta coordinator Dave Ragone, the former Bears quarterbacks coach whose unit is ranked 22nd in passing and has been nearly as ineffective as the Bears (28th) have been at passing.

2. Rally to the Ball

It's a staple of the Bears defense. Because Heinicke is going to lean heavily on his backs and tight ends as receivers in this game, they'll have to do it again and be as good as they have all year.

The Bears have allowed more receptions to backs (6.4 a game) than all but one other defense, and more receiving yards by backs (884) than any team. Atlanta is throwing 7.2 times a game to backs, fifth-highest amount in the NFL. Atlanta targets its wide receivers only 38% of passes (176 of 463), the lowest rate in the league, and almost 20 percentage points lower than the NFL average.

The Bears need to be prepared to come up after the tight ends and running backs and arrive with authority, much as they have throughout their statistical rise during the past five games.

3. Run Justin Fields

The impact of Fields and Khalil Herbert together as ball carriers lets the Bears be safer with the football by passing less.

Fields is a bigger threat as a runner than as a passer, particularly in this game, because DJ Moore is his healthiest receiver and is injured. Fields running 15 times shouldn't be out of the question, whether it's on planned runs or scrambles.

The Bears are 1-8 this year when they have an interception in a game. They need to remove all risk and difficulty by coming in with a run-oriented game plan much like against Arizona, but targeting in particular the left guard-center area and right end with runs. The Falcons rank 23rd in the league stopping runs around the right edge at 5.5 a carry, and 29th stopping runs off left guard at 5.16 yards.

Both are areas the Bears should be able to attack because left guard Teven Jenkins is their best run blocker, he isn't facing injured Falcons disruptive defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, and the Bears right tackle, Darnell Wright, is particularly effective in the running game.

Fields and Herbert both running the ball lets the Bears be patient, avoid throwing interceptions, and the ball control forces gritty Atlanta's quarterback to abandon what he wants to do in order to take unnecessary, dangerous risks.

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