Bears' strength looks better than ever after overcoming major obstacle vs. Jaguars in Week 6
The Chicago Bears 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6 is even more impressive when you look at what the team overcame in the loss.Going into the game, the Bears were already down two defensive starters in safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.Then, the unit had to play the rest of the […]
The Chicago Bears 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6 is even more impressive when you look at what the team overcame in the loss.
Going into the game, the Bears were already down two defensive starters in safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Then, the unit had to play the rest of the game without nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who left the game due to a hamstring injury.
Despite all the injuries in the backend of the defense, the Bears secondary still shined against the Jaguars thanks to the play of the depth pieces at the position.
"The [defensive backs] that came in there, [Josh] Blackwell came in in the middle of the game for Kyler [Gordon] and obviously Jaylon Jones and Elijah Hicks did a nice job coming in there," Eberflus said. "That's the partnership they have with their coaches. Coaches got it ready to go. We're always ready to go in terms of the depth part of it. And that's a good job of coaching those guys as well. But really good job of playing."
The secondary gave up a few big plays here and there but largely stood tall when it mattered. The three players who stepped up due to injury (Hicks, Jones, and Blackwell) all played a strong game by the time the clock hit zero.
Hicks especially stepped up in a big way and was able to bounce back after allowing a touchdown early in the game. Hicks had five tackles, one pass deflection and a fumble recovery against the Jaguars.
"You have a guy that's in a backup role, that's working his butt off on special teams, and then he gets his opportunity, and then you see him perform like that, even [Josh] Blackwell, Jaylon Jones, all those guys, it's always good to see that, because they're working at it just like everybody else," Eberflus added. "So when they get their opportunity, and they seize that opportunity and play well, it's always fun to see."
As for Jones, the third year cornerback led the team with 10 combined tackles, nine of which were solo tackles on the outside. Ideally you don't want to see your outside corner leading the team in tackles, but it goes to show Jones' impact in the game being able to bring down players in the open field on his own.
And after filling in for Gordon in the slot, Blackwell had a key interception against Jaguars' quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the fourth quarter. Three plays later, the Bears offense was able to punch in their fifth score of the game.
Heading into this game, the Bears secondary ranked sixth in passing yards per game allowed, tied for second in passing touchdowns allowed, and tied for fourth in defensive interceptions. The unit has definitely been the strength of this defense and they looked even better based on how the depth players looked in Week 6.
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