Where Has the Bears Pass Rush Gone?
The Bears’ defensive front was never supposed to be a strength of their team.
It looked like one of the most glaring weaknesses heading into the season.
That initially seemed like a massive overstatement, though, as the defensive line was not only consistently putting pressure on the quarterback but also finishing plays at an impressive rate. They got three sacks in three of the first four games and followed that up with two straight four-sack performances against the Panthers and Jaguars.
Life was great before the Bye Week, and the Bears clicked on all cylinders. Then the Commanders game happened.
While the offense has taken the brunt of the criticism for their horrific play in the weeks following the Bye (thanks, Shane Waldron), the defense also deserves their fair share of the blame for the four-game losing streak since the week off. The defensive line, specifically, has seemed to have taken a massive step back from where they were a month ago.
Chicago only has two sacks over the past two weeks. Even more alarmingly, they failed to get virtually any pressure on Drake Maye (who has been sacked multiple times in every other game he started and finished) and Jordan Love in either game.
Again, these performances were on par with the expectations entering the season, but they significantly outplayed those lukewarm expectations through the first six games.
So, what changed?
For starters, Montez Sweat has been battling through an ankle injury. It’s difficult to judge him appropriately without knowing the severity of the injury. Still, it would be nice to see the one-hundred-million-dollar man get more push on the pocket than he has thus far. His sack production is not the end-all-be-all when it comes to justifying his contract, but he needs to get consistent pressure to live up to the billing, and he hasn’t done that this year.
Despite the injury issues, Sweat is still second on the team with 3.5 sacks, behind only Gervon Dexter Sr., who has four QB takedowns. While this season has largely been a promising one for the second-year defensive tackle, he has also struggled to put consistent pressure on opposing QBs in recent weeks. The 23-year-old has largely cooled off after a blistering start to the year in which he had sacks in four of the first five games.
There have also been a myriad of other reasons that have contributed to Chicago’s lack of a consistent pass rush. The addition of Darrell Taylor looked like an absolute coup after he got two sacks in the season opener. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been nearly as impactful since, and he has lost more and more playing time to Austin Booker as the season has progressed. The loss of Andrew Billings certainly hasn’t helped the depth on the defensive line, although he’s always been more of a reliable force against the run than a proven threat as a pass-rusher.
For all of the Ryan Poles misses that have been magnified through their struggles this season, one that has flown well under the radar was his decision to prioritize Zacch Pickens in the third round of last year’s draft. Pickens has been a complete non-factor since joining the squad. To make matters worse, the Rams nabbed one of the league’s best young defensive tackles in Kobie Turner’s 25 picks after the Bears selected the South Carolina product.
Chicago’s inability to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks has undoubtedly contributed to their disappointing four-game losing streak.
It’s safe to say the team will be looking to improve the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in the offseason.
Suppose they keep playing losing football under their historically bad coach, Matt Eberflus (I have grown incapable of writing an article without throwing at least a little bit of dirt on his grave).
In that case, they might even have the opportunity to address the need in the top 5!
PHOTO: Michael Chow/The Republic/USA TODAY NETWORK/Imagn Images
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