Bears’ biggest concern coming out of Week 5 loss is something that’s going to be a lot harder to fix moving forward
A lot went wrong for the Chicago Bears on Sunday, but the play of the defense turned things ugly really fast and the unit had no answers for the big plays.
Not a lot went right for the Chicago Bears on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers and it seemed like this game was over well before it got started despite all of the hype the Bears had coming into Lambeau Field.
Chicago’s offense couldn’t get anything going all day, something we’ve already broke down since the game ended. With Ben Johnson at the helm and quarterback Caleb Williams coming back sooner than later, that’s not an issue I’m overly concerned about coming out of this game.
What I am concerned about is Dennis Allen’s defense, a unit that looked like a Top-10 defense the last three weeks, but certainly came back down to Earth on Sunday. That’s an issue where it’s something I can’t say with certainty can quickly be fixed.
Chicago Bears’ defense shows familiar flaws in Week 5 loss to the Green Bay Packers
What killed the Bears defensively on Sunday was the big plays in the passing game. Other than that, I honestly thought it was a sound game from Dennis Allen. However, once Jordan Love realized it was a flaw that couldn’t be fixed, it turned into an air raid.
It was bomb after bomb in at Lambeau Field and it was a similar sight to see against this defense. In fact, it’s a similar strategy the Packers used the last time they played Dennis Allen’s defense at Lambeau Field.
Once again, Christian Watson was the main weapon that took over this game. Watson finished the day with 143 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. He’s a tough player to defend given his size and speed and gave the Bears issues no matter who was guarding him.
“Obviously tall, fast,” Bears rookie safety Dillon Thieneman said. “They got a good offense and good quarterback. We definitely knew that they could be deep threats down field with (Matthew) Golden and Watson. At the end of the day, me myself and us as a defense, we just got to execute better.”
If it’s any comfort, the Bears held Watson in check in the two games last season after he torched them in the first meeting. But, it’s concerning to hear that they knew this would be a challenge going into it and still allowed it to be the reason they lost on their end.
“We didn’t execute,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “I think we knew when they were coming and I think a lot of times it was just finding ways to get to them. And honestly, they schemed it up pretty good too for a lot of the coverages that we were in. They have a lot of beaters too. There’s a lot of things that made it difficult and at some point you have to tip your hat. You knew what they were trying to do from the beginning and we didn’t do a good enough job.”
Weren’t things supposed to be different to contend against this type of offense?
When self-scouting after last season, Dennis Allen made it a point that the Bears needed more team speed, both up-front and in coverage. That was a point to help this unit be able to contend with these type of offenses that have legit burners, and there’s a lot of those type of players in this division.
Frankly, it seems Bears didn’t add enough, or at least have all of them available. Entering this game, the Bears allowed a 60 percent completion rate on passes of 20+ air yards, the fifth-highest rate in the NFL with two touchdowns allowed on such attempts. That includes the 58-yard touchdown the Bears allowed last week.
When a coach like Matt LaFleur sees that and has the burners in his offense, he’s going to exploit that. The Detroit Lions are going to eventually try to do the same later this season. Until the Bears show they can stop it, it’s going to continue to happen.
The problem is, how can they? Johnson looks like a shell of his former self and can’t carry routes vertically. Thieneman made one rookie mistake on one of Watson’s touchdowns and tried to jump a couple routes, he’ll learn from that. The other Watson bomb was a miscommunication between Devin Bush and Xavier Woods.
Perhaps a healthy Kyler Gordon could help things, saying he’s actually back to his old self once he returns to action, but that’s asking a lot. Maybe the eventual late season return of Coby Bryant can help this unit better defend the deep ball?
The good news is, not every team has the burners that can beat this defense like the Packers do. And again, Allen had a better plan the second time around. It’ll be something to monitor moving forward to see how the Bears address this reoccurring issue, especially when these two teams face off again on Christmas Day.
