Bears' defense gets one last audition for the new coach
There’s virtually nothing on the line in the Bears’ season finale against the Packers. Even the false narrative of a victory saving the head coach’s job isn’t alive this time.
The Bears can knock the Packers from the No. 6 seed to No. 7 with a victory — forcing them into a wild-card playoff game on the road against the Eagles (13-3) or the Rams (10-6). But that’s only if the Commanders lose to the Cowboys on Sunday.
But it’s a final opportunity for the Bears’ defense to provide some hope that the new coach will have a solid defensive foundation to start with in 2025. The game against the Packers on Nov. 17, in fact, was about the only time the defense showed any kind of response after the devastating Hail Mary debacle against the Commanders on Oct. 27.
The Bears, who had lost to the Cardinals 29-9 and the Patriots 19-3 in back-to-back games following the Hail Mary, allowed 366 yards against the Packers, but only 20 points — thanks in part to holding the Packers to 1-of-6 conversions on third and fourth down. In fact, with five minutes to go, the Bears were leading 19-14 before allowing Jordan Love’s 60-yard pass to Christian Watson that led to the game-winning touchdown with 2:59 left.
The Bears held the Seahawks to 265 yards and two field goals in a 6-3 loss last Thursday night. That might have been the benefit of playing a team traveling on a short week. This will be a much better measuring stick.
“I want them to play with passion, with intensity,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “I want them to be situationally smart. I want us to limit their rushing attack and just play with the kind of execution we saw [against] Seattle.”
The downfall of the Bears’ defense remains a mystifying aspect of their miserable season. The offense had a rookie quarterback and picked the wrong coordinator. But the defense was intact from the unit that led the NFL in rushing defense and led the NFL in fewest points allowed over the final eight games of the 2023 season. And while Matt Eberflus was faulty as a head coach, he was still a strong defensive coordinator.
Yet the defense enters the final game of the season in limbo. The Bears were fourth in points allowed and 10th in yards allowed through their first six games. Since the Hail Mary — and season-ending injuries to defensive tackle Andrew Billings and safety Jaquan Brisker — the Bears are 23rd in points allowed and 29th in yards allowed
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson made the Pro Bowl, but the impact of Montez Sweat and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds — their two other highest-paid players — diminished. The new coordinator might not have room to make too many major moves. But even Johnson isn’t so sure of that.
“It’s going to be a completely different group,” Johnson said. “A new coach comes in, he brings in a whole new team. You don’t know what you have . . . until the offseason when we go through free agency, the draft and things like that heading into camp. We’ll see what it is. We’ll see who returns, who doesn’t and see where they build the team from there.”