Chicago Bears: Key to defensive swoon lay on the ground

The Chicago Bears defense is left searching for answers as to why they’ve suddenly lost their mojo after starting the season so strong.

Most believe it centers around a mix of unfortunate health situations and a sudden loss of fundamentals. The pass rush is the primary culprit in their eyes. After racking up 18 sacks through the first four games, it’s managed just one in the previous two. Much of this is credited to the injured ankle of star Khalil Mack but it’s not just him who’s struggling. Akiem Hicks, Leonard Floyd, Eddie Goldman, and Aaron Lynch have been equally silent.

Why is this? Often in cases where a good pass rush is held in check, there is one overlooked factor. An inability to stop the run. This case rings true for Chicago. In their first four games, the Bears did not allow an opponent to rush for more than 74 yards in a game. Over the past two, the Dolphins and Patriots rushed for 161 and 103 respectively. Running the football well allows offenses to remain in favorable down and distance situations, making it difficult to get home to the quarterback.

The Bears have faced a 3rd or 4th down and 7+ yards just 36 times in six games this season. They have six sacks in those situations. They’ve faced 3rd or 4th down and 6 or fewer 47 times. They have two sacks in those situations. This is largely because they stopped stopping the run. So what gives?

Chicago Bears defense forgot who to tackle

More from NFL Mocks

The key to the entire problem is one of the most basic jobs of playing defense in football: tackling. Being able to get the ball carrier on the ground and limit yards after contact. The Bears were excellent at it through the first four games. They had 17 total missed tackles during that stretch. Then something happened over the bye week and they forgot how to do it. In just the past two games they have a whopping 25 missed tackles.

That’s what happens to teams with bad run defenses. The primary culprit is almost universally their inability to tackle well. The Cleveland Browns, who rank 28th? They’ve missed a staggering 89 tackles this season already. This is why the defense wears down late in games and can’t get to the quarterback when it matters most. That is something the Bears need to correct. Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, Goldman, Eddie Jackson, and Adrian Amos all need to be better.

This isn’t going to magically fix itself. They need to work harder to make it happen. They face a couple of decent running teams the next few weeks in some critical games. They better be prepared to see some heavy doses on the ground. The Jets put over 300 yards on Denver a couple weeks ago. Buffalo still has LeSean McCoy. This defense needs to decide who they want to be.

Home/NFL Hot Takes