Dennis Allen’s defense in Chicago tripped up J.J. McCarthy so bad even Peyton Manning was confused by the coverage
That’s what you’d want to see.
The Chicago Bears’ new-look defense got off to a hot start against the Minnesota Vikings going up against J.J. McCarthy in his first real start in the NFL, without three of the Bears’ top starters.
The Vikings script to start the game obviously wanted to make things easy for McCarthy starting out with two runs, but Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen wasn’t going to let that happen an easy start happen for McCarthy once he got the ball in his hands.
Allen’s aggressive-minded unit, as expected, lined up in press man on the line of scrimmage against the pass catchers and on third-down dropped into zone instead after the snap. McCarthy wasn’t the only one who was confused by the play design by the Bears’ defense.
Dennis Allen’s third-down play-call even had Peyton Manning confused
The ESPN alternate broadcast with former quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, really put things into perspective for how well Allen disguised his coverage on that third-down play to force a sack that ended the Vikings’ opening drive.
“I played 18 years, I thought it was man, they confused me,” Manning said on the ESPN broadcast. “I can promise you J.J. McCarthy thought it was man.”
Manning is, of course, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. Having him confused by that coverage shows how effective the look was by Allen and the players on the field. McCarthy had no clue what to do after getting the ball in his hands.
The second drive was much of the same for McCarthy. After two straight runs, the Vikings young quarterback attempted to bail out of the pocket but was tripped up for another sack. On the Vikings’ third offensive drive, the unit got a break with a 42-yard defensive pass interference call on Nahshon Wright but still had to only settle for a field goal after an incomplete pass on third-and-eight.
The blender Allen put McCarthy in continued into the second-half when Allen sent seven pass rushers on 3rd-and-8, leading to a 74-yard pick six by cornerback Nahshon Wright.
It’s worth reminding the Bears are doing all this without starting cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards.
With all the concerns about the pass rush going into Week 1, it was nice to see defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo generate some pressure with a four-man rush. It’s an encouraging first start for the Bears defense and we’ll see if it continues once the Vikings offense starts to adjust to what they’ve seen so far.
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