Coaching corrections after a win — or in this case, consecutive Chicago Bears victories — are always easier.
The upbeat mood at Halas Hall with the Bears coming off their bye week at 2-2 doesn’t make it any less of a conundrum for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and his staff as they search for solutions to improve a struggling run defense while playing without two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson for the foreseeable future.
Make strategic decisions to play with more defenders in the box in an effort to stop the run or continue liberally using two-high shells to guard against explosive pass plays with Johnson sidelined following surgery to repair a groin injury?
Through four weeks, the Bears ranked last against the run, allowing 164.5 yards per game. More problematic, they’re allowing 6.15 yards per carry. How unsavory is that? The worst figure in franchise history came in 2013, when opponents averaged 5.35. No NFL team has finished a season allowing 5.5 yards per attempt since the 1959 Washington Redskins.
The Bears defeated the Las Vegas Raiders 25-24 on Sept. 28 despite being gashed for 240 yards rushing, with rookie Ashton Jeanty accounting for 138. The Raiders entered the game with the league’s 30th-ranked rushing offense and had been struggling to create any holes for Jeanty, the sixth pick in the April draft.
It is notable Allen’s defense rallied in critical moments of the fourth quarter. The Raiders had first-and-goal from the 7-yard line when linebacker Noah Sewell tackled Jeanty for a 1-yard loss. Defensive linemen Dominique Robinson and Shemar Turner combined to stuff him for a 3-yard loss on the next play. On the game’s final possession, safety Kevin Byard tackled Jeanty for a 1-yard loss leading to the Daniel Carlson blocked 54-yard field goal.
So, there were big stops in defining moments of the first road victory of the season. But an overall review of the game has to be concerning given the yardage and big plays the team is allowing on the ground.
“Each week we have keys to victory and that was the biggest thing that we missed this week, our run defense,” coach Ben Johnson said. “Other than that, we hit on the turnovers, we hit on being great in our situational football. We were excellent in critical downs, two-minute situations. Even though we missed on one of the big ones for us (stopping the run), the other ones came through for us in a big way.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing is limiting the opposing offense in the number of points scored. If that means that we’re giving up some rushing yards, but yet we’re keeping them low on the scoreboard, we’ll manage with that. No one likes seeing 6 yards, 7 yards per carry. That’s not what Chicago Bears football is about. That’s not what we want to be about. We’re working very diligently on getting better in that regard.”
A key reason the Bears are .500 after an 0-2 start is Allen’s defense is third in the league with nine takeaways, so the team is also third in turnover margin at plus-five. Coaches are always going to value takeaways, which turn into extra possessions, over run defense numbers. They’re also going to focus on limiting explosive plays over basic run defense statistics.
This is where it’s really an issue for the Bears. Their overall run numbers are poor because they’re getting hit for too many big plays. They have surrendered 17 explosive runs (10 or more yards), the second-most in the league through Week 4 ahead of only the Buffalo Bills (21). By comparison, the Jacksonville Jaguars allowed only two.
A close look at the three longest runs allowed on the season shows it’s a collective issue. Run defense begins with the defensive line, but you can borrow from former Bears offensive coordinator John Shoop, who used to say “it takes a village to run the football,” and reason all of the villagers are required to stop the run.
Week 2 in Detroit: Jahmyr Gibbs’ 42-yard run
The play: The Lions ran what is called a crunch play designed to trap three players. Rookie right guard Tate Ratledge trapped nose tackle Andrew Billings. Tight end Brock Wright blocked down on three-technique Grady Jarrett, who fired straight upfield, effectively taking himself out of the play. While right tackle Penei Sewell fanned out defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, wide receiver Kalif Raymond cut to the middle of the field and trapped strong safety Jaquan Brisker. Raymond pulled cornerback Tyrique Stevenson with him. It’s a crack/replace technique, and Stevenson has to identify that Raymond is not running a route. Raymond was shooting inside to block Brisker. That meant Stevenson was unblocked and became the cutoff defender. Stevenson redirected late, and Gibbs was off to the races.
Scout’s take: “Even if Stevenson doesn’t follow Raymond, you’ve got a giant hole and the most explosive running back in the league on a cornerback, just what the Lions were hoping for in that situation. That’s a hard play to run because you need the right look and the right angles. It was flawlessly blocked.”
Week 4 in Las Vegas: Ashton Jeanty 64-yard touchdown run
The play: The Raiders ran basic outside zone. Nickel cornerback Nick McCloud was occupied by presnap jet motion. Left tackle Kolton Miller walled off defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who is the contain player. Raiders center Jordan Meredith reached blocked nose tackle Jonathan Ford, who was late to react, and beat him immediately. Meredith shouldn’t have been able to cross Ford’s face but did, turning the nose tackle inside. Left guard Dylan Parham climbed immediately to linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who also got turned inside. Right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle D.J. Glaze combination-blocked defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, and Glaze was able to climb to the second level to get just enough of linebacker Noah Sewell. Cornerback Nahshon Wright made the mistake of going inside on the play. He has to set the edge. Jeanty slipped outside and shook off a tackle effort by Byard along the sideline en route to the end zone.
Scout’s take: “Wright took himself out of the play. That’s got to be a 7-yard run, not a touchdown. But look at all the guys that got blocked before him.”
Week 4 in Las Vegas: Raheem Mostert 37-yard run
The play: The Raiders ran split-flow zone. Tight end Brock Bowers blocked defensive end Montez Sweat on the back side, where Sewell got caught with his eyes stuck in the backfield. On the other side, tight end Ian Thomas blocked Brisker, who was still in position to cut off the ball. Miller moved Odeyingbo laterally way past the formation and then the play was made by Parham and Meredith combo-blocking Billings upfield, toward the sideline and eventually into the lap of Edmunds. In fairness to Edmunds, he was in a really difficult spot. He tried to go back door and save the play and couldn’t. Then, Wright got greedy and went inside of Edmunds and got bulldozed by Powers-Johnson. The 33-year-old Mostert bounced outside and was off for a huge gain.
Scout’s take: “Vegas couldn’t run the ball at all in the first three games. Did they suddenly figure out what they’re doing or are the Bears that bad?”
It’s not surprising that the breakdowns came across the board on the long runs. That’s what happens on plays that are quickly to the third level. The depth chart has a lot of familiar faces from last season, when the Bears ranked 28th in run defense, allowing 136.3 yards per game. The defense was No. 1 in the league in 2023 (86.4) and 31st in 2022 (157.3).
“There is nothing schematic to change,” said the NFC scout, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he’s not authorized to speak publicly by his team. “You’ve got a corner that has to replace versus a crack block. Defensive tackles running upfield untrapped. It’s all stuff you expect to see in camp, not in Week 4. It has to be corrected or they are going to keep getting run on and run on.
“All of those are standard NFL fronts. Do they have to slant and angle up front? Do they have to move late on the defensive line? Do they have to bring more early down pressure to clog running lanes and disrupt the run game in general? I don’t know. They had to be sitting there during the bye saying, ‘We line up in our basic fronts and we’re getting gashed.’”
Even with heavy boxes, the Bears are getting run on.
- Eight-man box: 30th in NFL, 5.3 yards per carry (league average, 3.0)
- Seven-man box: 32nd, 5.9 ypc (league average, 3.7)
- Six-man box: 32nd, 6.2 ypc (league average, 4.2)
Help is on the way. Linebacker T.J. Edwards practiced Tuesday, a positive sign he could be available Oct. 13 when the Bears play at Washington. He has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury. Edwards isn’t just a good player, he helps those around him have the right fits.
“It takes everybody,” he said of the run defense. “That’s a team stat. It’s everyone keying in on the little things fundamentally. It’s been an emphasis, no doubt.”
Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who missed the first four games with a hamstring injury, also has practiced, putting him in position to play against the Commanders. A key reason the Bears rewarded Gordon with a contract extension in the offseason is because he’s valuable to the run defense as well as being sticky in pass defense.
Getting two core players back will help, for sure, but it’s not as if the Bears are going to have reinforcements who make a big difference on the line. Defensive end Austin Booker (knee) could be near a return, but as a run defender he’s better at tracking plays down from behind than setting a stout edge. The linemen need to start defeating blocks, cutting through double-teams and holding their ground.
“The most important thing that we’re looking at as a staff and as players is, how do we get better at some of our fundamentals?” Ben Johnson said. “We’re not shedding blocks to the degree we’d like to yet, or at least as consistently as we’d like to yet. We’re not making tackles in space as well as we’re capable of.
“We did enough live tackling over the course of training camp that I thought we’d be a little further along in that regard. It’s still a work in progress.”
If the Bears respond in the manner they have to other challenges Johnson has put before them, perhaps it will improve against a Commanders rushing offense that ranked No. 2 in the league through four weeks.
But Allen is in a bit of a pickle without his best player in Jaylon Johnson, knowing that if he sells out to stop the run at the wrong time, the Bears could be facing an entirely different kind of explosive problem.