Bears defense finally showed improvement despite loss to Vikings
Despite the 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears might have shown they have finally turned the corner in a major aspect of the game. The scoreboard and the box score won't give the unit enough justice, but the defense for the Bears played remarkably well in Week 6 compared to their first […]
Despite the 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears might have shown they have finally turned the corner in a major aspect of the game.
The scoreboard and the box score won't give the unit enough justice, but the defense for the Bears played remarkably well in Week 6 compared to their first five games of the season.
The improvement on that side of the ball was heavily overshadowed by the disappointing performance of the Bears offense and the injury sustained by quarterback Justin Fields, knocking him out of the game.
Now, with the dust settled, we can finally take a step back and analyze the on-field improvement shown by the Bears defense. The team held the Vikings to only one offensive touchdown (albeit without star wide receiver Justin Jefferson) and forced the Vikings offense off the field on multiple occasions.
The Vikings were just 2-13 on third-down, an area of the game that Chicago's been horrendous at entering the game. Through five weeks, the Bears ranked dead last in the league in 3rd down efficiency, allowing opposing offenses to convert on 57.35 percent of attempts. However, on Sunday, it was a totally different story.
The Bears had also surrendered a whopping 31.4 points per game to opposing team's entering Week 6, and only allowed 19 total points against the Vikings.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins was held to 181 passing yards with one touchdown and one fumble. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown for 289 passing yards per game against the Bears entering Week 6. Having key players back in the secondary was the major difference for the Bears and a big reason why they were able to limit Cousins on Sunday.
The Bears defense was even able to get after the Vikings quarterback and constantly kept him under pressure. The Bears ended the game with five sacks, after entering the game with seven total through the first five games.
However, the lack of complementary football continued to be the team's biggest problem. The Bears finally got a defensive turnover, yet still lost the turnover battle after giving the ball away three times on offense. One of which proved to be exceptionally critical in the first-half.
Right after the Bears got the defensive takeaway on the fumble recovery, the offense turned the ball right back over on an interception after three plays at the end of the second quarter. The Vikings then capitalized and scored their only offensive touchdown before the end of the half after marching down the field.
The defensive side of the ball in Chicago was finally healthy for the first time since Week 1 and it's remarkable the improvement the unit was able to show. Now, the defense just needs to get on the same page with the offense going forward, which could prove to be a problem if Fields remains out for an extended period of time.
Justin Fields suffered dislocated thumb vs Vikings, will have MRI on Monday
Not good news for QB1
