CHICAGO (104.3 The Score) – The convincing nature of the Bears' 23-12 win over the Jets on Sunday at Soldier Field wasn't truly reflected on the scoreboard.
Of course, the product on the field made it clear how thorough the Bears were in their effort as they improved to 3-1. Here are observations from Chicago’s victory.
'No-name defense'
In a win against the Panthers in their season opener, the Bears were gashed defensively for 37 points and 478 yards. In the three games since, they’ve allowed a combined 28 points and an average of 217 yards per game.
In other words, the Bears defense is playing at a high level.
"You can almost call them the no-name defense here at this point," head coach Ben Johnson said. "I don't know if anybody is super flashy, and yet they're playing really good football as a collective 11 on the field.
"All those guys, they just want to be sound, they want to know exactly what their assignment is and make sure they're doing exactly right by their buddy."
There were plenty of concerns for the Bears defense entering the season, in large part due to injuries on that side of the football. The Bears lost safety Coby Bryant (knee) on the first day of full-contact practice in early August, have been without nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (calf) for the first four games of the season and had several key players returning from significant injuries in cornerback Jaylon Johnson (core muscle), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (Achilles) and linebacker T.J. Edwards (leg).
The Bears defense has overcome those concerns by playing hard and with discipline. Their work Sunday was unique and their lightest workload yet. The Jets offense ran just 32 players as the Bears offense dominated time of possession and the Chicago defense held New York without a third-down conversion. The Bears defense was on the field for just 17:15 of game action.
Bears linebacker Devin Bush joked that he was hardly sore after this game. When the defense was on the field, its play was strong.
"This is what we sign up to do," Bush said.
"We play hard, we play together, we play for each other."
Through four games, Odeyingbo leads the Bears with three sacks. Edwards and Bush have formed a strong tandem at linebacker. Rookie safety Dillon Thieneman has been excellent as Bryant aims to make a late-season return. The cornerback trio of Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson and rookie Malik Muhammad have got the job done.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has what he needs to implement an aggressive, attacking style of defense. The turnaround speaks for itself.
Playing coy at quarterback
Until last Monday, Bears head coach Ben Johnson had never entered a game without his starting quarterback – or even a No. 1 overall pick under center – since becoming the lead play-caller of the Lions in 2022.
Lions quarterback Jared Goff hasn't missed a game in that span, and Bears quarterback Caleb Williams had started every game since he entered the NFL until he suffered a hamstring injury on Sept. 20.
Following the injury to Williams, Johnson didn't rule out any of the Bears' three quarterbacks – Case Keenum, Tyson Bagent and Williams – for their game against the Eagles on Monday Night Football. Keenum started that game and shined in a 27-7 win after Bagent had missed most of the practice week while in concussion protocol.
This past week, Johnson declined to publicly reveal that the Bears would turn to Bagent against the Jets. Even so, news leaked out that Bagent would start Sunday. Having some fun with it, Johnson had a trick up his sleeve.
He had Keenum take the first snap of the game with Bagent lined up out wide. That officially made Keenum the starting quarterback for the game, though Bagent was also credited with a start.
Johnson has leaned into it all. He has been on one.
"I got all these memos saying Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement, so I wanted to get Case out there first time," Johnson said. "It was like a ceremonial first pitch out there, handing off the torch."
Now, the focus shifts to this upcoming Sunday as the Bears travel to Green Bay to meet the rival Packers. We all know well how Johnson feels about that particular opponent.
Meanwhile, Williams could be trending toward a return. That will likely be the next twist Johnson utilizes in creating uncertainty at his quarterback position.
He has enjoyed playing this card.
Extra points
--- With receiver Luther Burden III taking the fourth snap of the game, the Bears had three players take a snap in the first four plays.
--- The Bears have plenty to clean up in the red zone. Their opening drive went 14 plays and 93 1/2 yards before a turnover on downs as the Bears couldn’t get the final half-yard to punch in the touchdown.
-- It was absolute J-E-T-S comedy as their defense gathered together to celebrate an interception that was wiped off the board due to a penalty. The Jets later ended their astonishing 20-game drought without an interception as Bagent was picked off by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
-- Speaking of which, the Jets made former Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright a healthy scratch once again Sunday. That was the second time it happened in the first four games. Could Wright return to Chicago later this season?
-- On the injury front, running back Kyle Monangai walked out of the locker room with a heavy wrapping on his injured right thumb. On the plus side, Bryant was seen in the locker room without crutches for the first time since his knee injury.
-- Bottle up that weather for every day this fall. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperatures were in the low 70s.
-- It's Packers week.
Chris Emma covers the Bears and the Chicago sports scene for 104.3 The Score.
