Bears’ defense gets put under an intense microscope, and there’s a lot of things to blame after the performance in Week 2 vs. Lions
Nowhere close to good enough.
What an abysmal performance by the Chicago Bears in Week 2. Simply put, the Bears did not deserve to even be on the same field, or stadium for that matter, as the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
From start to finish, it was a frustrating and outright embarrassing performance by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s unit. The Lions proved their offense can still be just as lethal without Ben Johnson as the team’s offensive coordinator, who helplessly watched it unfold on the opposite sideline.
There are a lot of things to blame, once again, for the Bears’ performance. But the majority of the loss this week falls squarely on the defense.
Bears’ defense heavily outclassed by Detroit in Week 2
Going into this game, the Bears knew it would be a massive challenge to defend against the Lions’ arsenal of skill players. And the Bears managed to somehow limit none of those players.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was the star of the game for the Lions, racking up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns, but he’s far from the only player who dominated against Chicago. Quarterback Jared Goff was nearly flawless throwing the ball while facing relatively no pressure, and wide receiver Jameson Williams took the top off the secondary as well.
That’s not even factoring in the run game for Detroit with Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery each going for 50+ yards and a touchdown on the ground. Each player averaged 5.0+ yards per carry.
Serious conversations need to be had. Is the problem Allen’s aggressive scheme that’s susceptible to big plays? Or is the level of talent simply not good enough to play in this scheme, much less hang with such a loaded offense?
The secondary, even with Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson on the field, who left halfway through the game after reaggregating his groin injury, was getting cooked by the Lions. But, to me, it all starts up front with the system Allen is looking to run.
The Bears are paying way too much money for the effort the pass rush had against the Lions. Goff was hit just four times, and the only sack he took was negated due to a penalty.
If you’re not generating pressure, the secondary will get exposed in the 1-on-1s, especially against a crafty player in St. Brown and a speedster in Williams. If you give Goff time, he will find an open guy, and that’s exactly what we saw happen on Sunday for all four quarters.
Now, it doesn’t help that the Bears’ offense had six drives of five or fewer plays. But being gassed isn’t what happened for this defense. Offense and quarterback play were far from the biggest issues for this team in Week 2, which should be seen as even more of a concern.
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It’s not a good look.
