When a proposed trade for Matthew Judon that would have dramatically changed the Chicago Bears defensive front fell through, the team pivoted to Darrell Taylor in a minor trade.
We’ll see if the Bears adjust their strategy as well when it comes to hunting quarterbacks, beginning with the Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis in Sunday’s opener at Soldier Field.
That’s right. We’ll get a glimpse into how aggressive coach Matt Eberflus wants to be with his play calling and if he’s inclined to feed the fans’ usual call for any defensive coach — to blitz more.
The Bears ranked 21st in the NFL last season in rushing five or more defenders on pass plays, doing so 22.2% of the time. Eberflus has evolved in teaching the Tampa-2 defense, which generally relies on four-man pressure with seven in coverage, and in reality the Bears also play a big chunk of Cover-3.
While the Bears didn’t land Judon — the deal, which would have cost a 2025 fourth-round pick, was murky for them because of the veteran’s uncertain contract status — they did get a player in Taylor who had 9½ sacks for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022 and 21½ over the last three seasons. Taylor, who cost a sixth-round pick, will have opportunities to emerge as a consistent rusher opposite Montez Sweat for a defense that needs to get off to a much better start than it did in 2023.
The Bears had only 10 sacks through the first nine games last season, and five came in Week 5 against Sam Howell and an overmatched Washington line as the Commanders tried to play catch-up. Sweat provided a boost in the second half of the season, but the defense ranked 31st with 30 sacks — half of what the league-leading Baltimore Ravens produced.
The Bears know if they want to be one of the best defenses in the league, they have to be much better rushing the passer a year after they led the league in run defense.
While Eberflus will retain play-calling duties, there’s hope defensive coordinator Eric Washington will have an impact in the first season of his second go-around with the Bears. He rose through the ranks as a defensive line coach, and former Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera was drawn to Washington because of his work under Rod Marinelli, who also had a significant impact on Eberflus’ career.
“His pass-rush game is phenomenal,” said Rivera, who had Washington on his staff with the Carolina Panthers. “He’s going to be very good with that. Guys like Sweat, they’ll get better.”
Sweat is coming off a career-high 12½ sacks as he led both the Commanders (6½) and Bears (6) in that category, a statistical anomaly. The first hope is the line will be much more disruptive getting after quarterbacks, with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter a potential breakout player entering Year 2.
Daniel Hardy tied for the league lead in the preseason with 3½ sacks, and rookie Austin Booker added 2½. The Bears kept six defensive ends on the 53-man roster, a sign they’re prepared to mix and match in a search for the right combination that could give them more opportunities to slide DeMarcus Walker inside, especially on passing downs.
“I’ve got to coincide with everybody on that line,” Sweat said. “But a one-two punch on the other side definitely complements the rush a lot. It takes chippers off me. Sometimes it brings more attention. It might create more one-on-ones for me or him. Yeah, it’s something needed.”
There’s also the question of how aggressive Eberflus is willing to be in a bid to produce drive-killing negative plays. His willingness to dial up the blitz will depend heavily on game situations, matchups and the game plan, which varies by opponent.
If he has increased faith in a young secondary to handle its business, he might be a little wilier with weak-side linebacker T.J. Edwards and nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, effective blitzers from the second and third levels. Strong safety Jaquan Brisker, who led the Bears with four sacks in 2022, can get home too.
The defense had success bringing heat in the preseason. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gordon rocked quarterback Logan Woodside for a sack during the brief time the Bears starters were on the field. Later, Josh Blackwell nailed Woodside on a pass that linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga intercepted. Near the end of the game, Reddy Steward’s pressure led to an interception by cornerback Terell Smith.
Three blitzes — all by nickel backs — and all significant wins for the defense as the coaching staff clearly wanted to experiment a bit that day.
“We like the results that we got during the preseason (a league-high 12 sacks),” Washington said. “And when we dial up a pressure, when we have one that could come from anywhere, we need that pressure to be impactful. We need it to generate the kind of reaction we got in the preseason.
“To speed up the quarterback. To get our hands on him, to force errant throws, all of those types of things. And we’ve got some guys away from the defensive line that can absolutely rush the quarterback and make an impact when we call their number.”
The flip side of blitzing more — the one typically overlooked by those clamoring for the coach to unleash rushers — is it can expose the secondary and give the quarterback advantageous one-on-one matchups when the rush doesn’t get home. That leaves the play caller to balance his desire to create negative plays against the fear of surrendering explosive ones that can lead to quick scores.
“You can only do so much with your personnel,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “In the beginning, we didn’t have as strong of personnel as we do now. Kyler was young. A lot of those guys that are playing and making big-time plays for us now were young.
“It’s not a system change. It is more so knowing your personnel a little bit and trying to ease guys in certain ways. At the end of the day, it’s something we’ve progressed to. We’ve earned that right to make certain plays to get certain calls.”
Against Levis, who was sacked 28 times in nine games last season but is playing behind a rebuilt offensive line, we’ll see how Eberflus feels about living a little more dangerously.
“For obvious reasons I won’t telegraph Matt’s intentions as a play caller,” Washington said. “If we pressure, that needs to hit. If we don’t, it needs to feel like pressure.”
