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Bears defense responds to early TD with dominant performance: 'We know how good we are'

7 October 2024Last Update :
Bears defense responds to early TD with dominant performance: 'We know how good we are'

CHICAGO — Chuba Hubbard’s 38-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead might have been the worst thing to happen to Carolina.

It left the Bears defense ticked off.

“When they scored the touchdown we said, ‘Yeah, that’s all they get,’” defensive end Montez Sweat said.

And that’s all they got.

In a 36-10 win, the Bears dominated on both sides of the ball, and the defense kept the Panthers out of the end zone the rest of the afternoon.

“That was not our identity. That’s not who we want to be,” defensive tackle Gervon Dexter said. “That’s not what we want to put on film. We’ve just got to clean that up a little bit. Of course things like that are gonna happen. If it does happen, we try to correct it fast. I feel like we did a good job at that.”

The Panthers gained 15 yards total on their next 11 plays. Their next six possessions went: punt, punt, lost fumble, turnover on downs, missed field goal, interception. They got only three first downs on those six possessions.

After a field goal late in the third quarter, Carolina finished the game with another punt, another lost fumble and another turnover on downs.

“S—, got pissed off,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “Got to stay in our gaps. It’s been the same thing for the last two weeks, getting out of our gaps. Really getting tired of the same mistakes, but just staying hungry and take that nasty taste out.”

At halftime, Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton had completed 12 of 16 passes but for only 74 yards. YAC was hard to come by for Carolina.

“We were making plays on the ball,” Johnson said. “Made them check the ball down, rallying, tackling. I think we did a good job tackling on the perimeter. Let some runs get on out on us, but overall just eliminated the big plays that they’re used to getting through the air and really just going through from there.”

Seven of the Panthers’ eight longest pass plays happened when the Bears were up three scores, and the other — a 31-yard pass at the end of the first half — came after a missed tackle by safety Jaquan Brisker.

When the game was close, Panthers pass catchers had nowhere to go once they caught the ball. That helped create third-and-long situations, and the Bears’ defensive line feasted.

On third-and-13 late in the first quarter, Dexter and defensive end DeMarcus Walker ran a “Tom” game, a stunt between the two defensive tackles. One picks the center, the other loops around. The idea is it sets up a sack for one player. This time, they shared it.

“D-Walk did a good job of penetrating when he was picking and we met at the quarterback,” Dexter said.

“We’ve been practicing it. It came to fruition,” Walker said.

Dexter had four of the Bears’ 10 quarterback hits, matching Walker’s four QB hits from Week 1 as the most for a Bear this season.

Two drives later, the Panthers had a third-and-12 when Dalton threw it to tight end Tommy Tremble in the flat. Brisker came flying in for the hit, one that knocked the ball out. Dexter landed on it.

“Coach (Matt Eberflus) joked around on one of the ones last week, Kyler (Gordon) beat me to it when Tez stripped the ball, so I had to beat him to it this week,” Dexter said.

On fourth-and-3 on the next drive, Dexter’s QB hit combined with cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s pass defensed got the Bears the ball back, and Caleb Williams responded with a 30-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore.

This defense is accustomed to impressive performances, but it’s rarely in sync with the offense. This was the largest Bears win of the Eberflus era.

“It’s a good feeling to sit back and just drink your Gatorade and know that if the offense scores, we don’t necessarily have as much pressure, but it also gives us a chance to pin our ears back and go pass rush,” Sweat said.

Johnson is in his fifth season and has had several postgame conversations about a defense having to pick up the offense. Sunday was different.

“I don’t think I’ve had a performance like this since I’ve been here,” he said. “I’m enjoying it.”

While the Bears offense had its best game of the season, the defense made sure it wouldn’t be for naught. When they had to punt to open the second half, the defense got the ball right back on a Kevin Byard interception. The Bears’ next punt, late in the third quarter, didn’t lead to a Panthers score, either.

The Panthers had third-and-4 from the Bears’ 37-yard line when they simply didn’t block defensive tackle Andrew Billings. He rumbled unimpeded to Dalton for his first sack of the season.

“Him running free at the quarterback is not a good look. That’s not gonna end well for the offensive side of the ball,” Sweat said.

Billings has maybe been the most impressive player on defense all season.

“When you’re that free, you see a lot of people miss those. Bill’s athletic, you know what I’m saying?” Walker said. “I’m happy for him. It showed on the sideline, us rallying around him. We love to see him win.”

For good measure, the Bears added one more fumble recovery in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds forced it and Gordon recovered. As good a job as the 2023 Bears did taking the ball away, they had only six fumble recoveries. They’re up to five already this season.

“I was really proud of the guys that recovered those fumbles,” Eberflus said. “To get a recovered fumble you have to be hustling the way we do it. … That person’s hustling because he anticipated that ball was going to be there.”

According to TruMedia, Andy Dalton’s EPA (expected points added) against the blitz on third down was -2.04, the seventh worst in the league this season.

It was a team effort, too. Eleven players recorded a “splash” play (sack, QB hit, tackle for loss, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery or pass defensed). Johnson, who technically didn’t have a splash play on the stat sheet, had tackles for 1 and 2 yards on pass plays. Linebacker T.J. Edwards had a run stuff of 1 yard on third-and-2 and a tackle for a 2-yard gain on second-and-8.

“Everyone wants to make the play,” Gordon said. “That’s the thing. Who next? It can go really any way. I love this defense, love the energy we bring. Everybody’s a dog, everyone’s trying to do something.”

As the Bears get set for their game against a rejuvenated Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in London, the defense still has work to do, especially against the run. They took advantage of an undermanned Panthers offensive line and Dalton, whose magic from two weeks ago dissipated. And the offense isn’t always going to get the defense this kind of cushion.

When the Panthers took that 7-0 lead, though, everyone might have gotten a little tight. It was a familiar script. But the Bears made sure there wouldn’t be any, “Here we go again.” They dominated.

“We had, what, 10 starters returning? Then we add (Byard). There’s no drop-off,” Walker said. “We know how good we are.”

(Photo of Tremaine Edmunds and Chuba Hubbard: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

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