A hard truth is setting in about the Bears defense, and there’s little to suggest meaningful change is coming anytime soon
The Chicago Bears aren’t going to find much improvement with the current state of the defense.
The Chicago Bears defense got thoroughly exposed on another national stage against the San Francisco 49ers and even if the game ended with the offense on the field in position to score, the root cause of the team’s issues remain the same.
This defense under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has struggled all season, well before Sunday’s pathetic performance. It’s the third game this season in which the Bears allowed 42+ points, with the other two games being the Week 2 blowout against the Detroit Lions and the Week 9 walk-off win against the Cincinnati Bengals.
No other team in the entire league has allowed as many 42+ point games this season. It’s who the Bears are defensively, and it’s gotten to the point where nothing is going to change that in 2025.
Takeaways can only tell part of the story for the Bears defense this season
When it comes to taking the ball away, there’s no better team than the Chicago Bears on the defensive side of the ball. Chicago easily leads the NFL in total takeaways and interceptions and it’s more of a credit to the coaches putting the players in a position to make the most of an opportunity.
“I think when you emphasize something and the guys take it to heart, I think that’s when good things happen,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said two months ago. “So it’s not luck. It’s by design.”
But, what happens when that takeaway well runs dry? For Chicago, big plays happen. After Week 17, the Bears are now allowing 222.0 passing yards per game (12-most in NFL) and 135.5 rushing yards per game (5th-most in NFL).
When it comes to big plays, the Bears entered Week 17 allowing 26 completions and 11 touchdowns on passes of 20+ air yards. In the run game, Chicago entered the week allowing 5.0 rushing yards per attempt, the 4th-highest average allowed in the league.
Then came Sunday’s season-worst showing in San Francisco. A game in which the defense allowed 42 points, 496 total yards, 32 first downs, and 7.3 yards per play.
It all starts with the pass rush, or lack thereof
All of these struggles defensively start up-front. The Bears pass rush has been nonexistent all season long outside of a few splash games against subpar offensive lines, like we saw in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns backup OL and a rookie quarterback.
Montez Sweat leads the team with 9.5 sacks and and 49 total pressures, followed by Gervon Dexter (5.0 sacks with 36 pressures) and Austin Booker (4.5 sacks and 25 pressures). The problem isn’t a lack of production, but a lack of consistency.
Among 136 defensive linemen with 250+ pass rush snaps, here’s where the Bears top four defensive linemen rank in pass rush win percentage, via Pro Football Focus.
- Montez Sweat: 12.8 percent (43rd)
- Gervon Dexter Sr.: 10.3 percent (81st)
- Austin Booker: 8.9 percent (99th)
- Grady Jarrett: 6.8 percent (121st)
Without getting pressure up-front from the starting four-man front, the Bears are exposing the secondary in the passing game, or forcing Allen to dial up the blitz to try and create pressure instead, which leaves the rest of the defense at a disadvantage if the blitz fails.
Issues in the second and third level when it comes to coverage
The problem with that is the fact that the Bears have been brutal in coverage this season. Players such as Nahshon Wright, Nick McCloud, Tyrique Stevenson, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson have struggled in man coverage sticking with receivers and the interception numbers water down the true stats.
Injuries certainly haven’t helped the unit, either. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson missed the majority of the season and is still working his way back to Pro Bowl caliber play due to a groin injury and slot cornerback Kyler Gordon has been out of the lineup nearly all season due to multiple injuries.
That’s where the Bears can hope to find some improvement going into the playoffs. Johnson has allowed just two receptions in his last three games and the team hopes to have Gordon back soon. That can help limit what players like Wright and Gardner-Johnson are asked to do in coverage and stick to what it is they’re good at.
The linebacker position, however, is one area I’m surprised to see be as bad as it was. Now, Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards have both been dealing with soft tissue issues of their own, but both players really struggled in coverage on Sunday night allowing a combined 11 receptions for 129 yards and three touchdowns on 11 targets. That’s inexcusable play from the second level too.
Ultimately, it is what it is at this point until changes in personnel can be made in 2026
Honestly, I give Allen and the rest of the defensive staff some credit for working with what they’ve had to work with this season when you factor in the amount of injuries this unit has been forced to play through at all three levels.
But, it’s not a caliber defense that can help this team win games in the playoffs, that’s just pure fact based on what we’ve seen throughout the season.
As I mentioned, Johnson is getting healthier and Gordon potentially being back would be a plus for the secondary, but it won’t matter much if you can’t pressure the QB or stop the run.
With the amount of money being tied into Chicago’s defense for 2025 and beyond with this kind of showing, some uncomfortable conversations are going to be had with a lot of players after this season. And you can be sure we’ll see a lot of new faces on that side of the ball in 2026.
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