Bears hope to have found the missing pieces to unlock a struggling pass rush with rookie QB Jaxson Dart set to be the first test
Will the Bears be able to get after the Giants rookie quarterback on Sunday?
The Chicago Bears had an offensive explosion in Week 9 with head coach Ben Johnson’s unit scoring 47 points and nearly totaling 600 yards of offense. But, the story of the game was the defense for Chicago that allowed 42 points and 449 passing yards.
“It’s a combination of both rush and coverage,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said on Wednesday. “We gotta combine them both. There’s times where we’ll bring our four-man rush and we can get pressure on the quarterback because we’re playing coverage. And other times we’ll bring some pressure ourselves and we gotta hold up on the backend. The balance between the two, we didn’t strike that right cord.”
The opponent on the other side of the ball certainly had something to do with it too. The Bears were facing an experienced quarterback in Joe Flacco, who set a career-high in his 204th career game.
“Flacco’s a really smart player, he’s been around for a long time,” Johnson added. “He knew where he was going to go with that football. You give him that many opportunities, he was able to find some open receivers and extend the drive.”
This week, the Bears are hoping to clean up things defensively and banking on some recent additions to get back on track in terms of the pass rush. It also should be a more favorable matchup for the unit going up against a rookie quarterback in Jaxson Dart, making his seventh career NFL start.
Bears are hoping to unlock the pass rush against Jaxson Dart in Week 10
Over the last two weeks, the Bears have added three new pieces to the defense in defensive end Austin Booker, defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
Booker, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2024, made his season debut coming off preseason knee injury and impressed in his first game back. Gardner-Johnson was signed last week and had an immediate impact after reuniting with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Tryon-Shoyinka was acquired before Tuesday’s trade deadline and is expected to have a role on Sunday as a rotational edge rusher.
With the combination of those three players, Chicago is hopeful to unlock the team’s inconsistent pass rush alongside Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter Sr., Grady Jarrett, and others. Going up against a rookie quarterback will be a big first test for this new-look defense and to learn more about the opposing quarterback, I spoke with Joe DeLeone of A to Z Sports New York.
“New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart has performed much better than expected for a rookie. Despite being in one of the worst possible situations, with no receivers, a mediocre offensive line, and no running game, he’s found ways to be a dynamic playmaker. This season, the Giants are among the worst in pressures allowed, with 132. Despite constant pressure, Dart has succeeded in evading pressure and extending plays. His athleticism and pocket mobility have kept many plays alive that would have otherwise fallen apart. . .
“Additionally, Dart has been excellent when blitzed, completing 67% of his passes and throwing six touchdowns while taking three interceptions. While it’s often thought that rookie quarterbacks are easily rattled, Dart does not fit that mold. He will keep thriving in chaos, just as he has so far this season.” – Joe DeLeone, A to Z Sports New York
Based on DeLeone’s assessment of the rookie’s play so far, it might not be as favorable of a matchup going up against Dart and this Giants offense as many might think. The athleticism and ability to extend plays after being pressured is what should worry Chicago the most after seeing how the unit did against Tyler Huntley back in Week 8.
This rookie will be ready for the challenge and Allen’s defense will be ready to throw everything at him to try and create some takeaways in this matchup. It should be a fun one to watch.
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