Bears take smart approach to Jalen Hurts challenge in Week 3 after learning from Titans’ costly mistake
The Chicago Bears face one of the NFC’s top teams Monday night in the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Bears are taking a deliberately different approach in how they treat quarterback Jalen Hurts unlike what the Tennessee Titans did last week.
The Chicago Bears are looking to turn the page quickly after a tough Week 2 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and the quarterback situation with Caleb Williams remains uncertain heading into Monday night’s game.
But the Caleb Williams question is only part of the story going into Week 3. The Bears are still going up against one of the NFC’s top teams in the Philadelphia Eagles, and the team is taking a calculated approach to one of the game’s biggest matchups when it comes to defending against quarterback Jalen Hurts.
Chicago Bears aren’t giving Jalen Hurts any bulletin board material like the Tennessee Titans did
Going into last week’s game between the Tennessee Titans and the Eagles, Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons made some eye-opening comments about Hurts that caught the Eagles quarterback’s attention.
“We just need to make Jalen Hurts be a quarterback. Stop his runs, make sure Hurts doesn’t get out of the pocket and make plays,” Simmons said.
To Simmons’ credit, that game plan itself was sound. When Hurts stayed in the pocket on Sunday, he completed 23 of 30 pass attempts with zero touchdowns, two interceptions, and was pressured eight times by the Titans defense. Outside the pocket, Hurts found two touchdowns but was sacked three times with seven pressures.
While the analysis was correct, the problem was saying it out loud. Hurts heard those comments and made a note of it before the game, using Simmons’ words as fuel in a game Tennessee already had little margin for error and led the game-winning TD drive along with converting nine third downs with his arm.
“I heard it,” Hurts said when asked about Simmons’ comments after the game. “I heard it and I’m happy we won.”
The Bears are taking a different approach. They recognize the talent Hurts brings to the table as a quarterback who has been there and done that at a high level. While Hurts has faced criticism about where he ranks among the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Chicago is not interested in providing extra motivation to a player who clearly does not need it.
“Obviously it’s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. One of the better quarterbacks in the NFL,” Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo told reporters on Monday. “They play a physical game, so we have to be at our best game on defense as a whole.”
Dayo Odeyingbo emerging as a consistent force for the Bears
Speaking Odeyingbo, the veteran has been one of the more motivated (no pun intended) players for the Bears defense through two games on what has otherwise continued to be a struggling defensive line.
Odeyingbo leads the Bears with eight total pressures, one sack, and two quarterback hits through two games, with a 21.7 win percentage according to Pro Football Focus. The coaching staff has been moving him off the edge and inside on third downs to create a NASCAR-like pass rush package with faster defensive linemen.
“I know there’s growth there,” Odeyingbo said of his play through two weeks. “Just continuing to strive for it to be better every day.”
That level of production is what the Bears needed to see from him coming off a season-ending injury. And his ability to line up at multiple spots along the front could be critical against an Eagles offensive line that excels in traditional pass protection.
Dennis Allen’s defense showed progress in Week 2 and it needs to continue on Monday
The Bears defense put together a much improved performance against the Vikings on Sunday, holding Minnesota to just nine points. Weather played a role, as did the Vikings starting backup quarterback Carson Wentz. Still, Dennis Allen’s unit made life difficult for Kevin O’Connell’s offense throughout the game.
“I think we did a good job knocking the line of scrimmage back,” Odeyingbo said. “I think we did well in situational – end of half, redzone, third and fourth down – we were able to get off the field. Those were some things we can carry over into next week.”
Chicago generated eight total pressures and three sacks on Wentz in that game. That pressure, though, came largely through Allen’s blitz packages, such as sending cornerback Malik Muhammad II from the slot and even dialing up a corner cat blitz with Jaylon Johnson. Allen’s MO has always been clear: generate pressure through scheme rather than relying solely on the defensive front.
When the Bears faced Hurts in Week 13 last season, the Eagles quarterback had 184 yards and two touchdowns from inside the pocket with nine pressures and zero sacks. Outside the pocket, he had 27 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception, and two pressures on six attempts.
Chicago knows the challenge that awaits on Monday night, and recognizing the threat is step one. Step two is making sure they avoid handing Hurts the kind of bulletin board material like the Titans gave him last week. The Bears appear intent on letting their play do the talking and we’ll see how the results of that process look on Monday.
