Bears roughed-up secondary set to face another daunting WR duo
The Chicago Bears secondary concerns aren't expected to be relieved on Thursday Night Football against the Washington Commanders to kick off Week 5. Safety Eddie Jackson is trending towards missing his third straight game and cornerback Jaylon Johnson is also leaning towards being ruled out after neither defensive backs appeared at practice this week. The […]
The Chicago Bears secondary concerns aren't expected to be relieved on Thursday Night Football against the Washington Commanders to kick off Week 5.
Safety Eddie Jackson is trending towards missing his third straight game and cornerback Jaylon Johnson is also leaning towards being ruled out after neither defensive backs appeared at practice this week.
The continued absences in the Bears secondary could again be a persistent problem against the Commanders, as the team will be deploying one of the league's top wide receiver tandems in Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson.
The Bears are expecting to start rookies Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith at cornerback for the second straight week. Stevenson allowed just 2 receptions for 15 yards against Broncos wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton in Week 4's loss. Smith didn't allow a single completion against the two top wide outs, and was only targeted three times.
Overall, it was a decent performance for the rookie pairing in their first start together on the outside against the Broncos top two wide receivers. On Thursday, Stevenson and Smith will be facing off against another top caliber duo, McLaurin and Dotson.
McLaurin and Dotson have totaled 35 receptions for 322 yards and 2 touchdowns through four games. Wide receiver Curtis Samuel will also present a challenge for the Bears secondary, as he ranks second on the team with 178 receiving yards.
The Bears rookie defensive backs will have to be ready to face all three players on Thursday. Washington loves to alternate all three weapons between the slot and the outside, meaning Stevenson and Smith will never know who might be lined up across from them on any given play.
With all the injuries in the Bears secondary this season, the team did bring in one addition to the unit to potentially help. The team announced on Tuesday that they have signed defensive back Duron Harmon to the active roster.
The former Raider started 16 games last season and allowed just 2 touchdowns, while receiving a 77.6 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus. In a short week however, it'll be surprising if Harmon even gets any considerable snaps against the Commanders.
The depth concern has been consistent all season as the Bears have allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game (1,071) this season. Let's see if the Bears young unit can finally stand tall against the Commanders passing game on Thursday.
