The Indianapolis Colts weren’t ready for Darnell Washington, despite preparations, and the Bengals didn’t learn from them, but the Bears hope to. After his headline-grabbing game against Cincinnati, Chicago’s defensive coordinator acknowledged that the Steelers’ big tight end has their attention.
“Yeah, absolutely”, Bears DC Dennis Allen said of Darnell Washington, via their website. “He’s a factor when he’s got the ball in his hands, because he’s really athletic, he can run, and he’s tough to get down. When they throw the ball to him, we’re gonna need a lot of hats around the ball”.
Washington might not be putting up Pro Bowl numbers, but he is hard to stop with the ball. At 6-7, 311 pounds, he has the size of a lineman, but the athleticism of a tight end. Considering he can hurdle a defender or run him over with equal ease, that’s something you need to prepare for.
And the Bears are talking about just that sort of thing in preparing to defend Darnell Washington. They don’t even know if he will be a big part of the game plan in the passing attack, but they had better be ready if he is. His role will vary from week to week, but has generally trended upward.
With four catches for 67 yards, Washington had his most productive game of his career against the Bengals. Over the past three games, he has nine catches for 120 yards, averaging 13.3 yards per catch. And with even the Steelers admitting they’re still discovering just what he can do, you don’t know what to expect. Any week, he could have a big role in the game plan. If you’re not ready for it, you’ll be looking like Geno Stone.
Of course, Allen was trying not to single Darnell Washington out, even though that’s who he was asked about. At first, he tried to generalize the Steelers’ big skill players. “I think in general the tight end position that they have is a very talented group, and they all have a unique skill set. They use them all in different ways. I think our ability to defend these tight ends is going to be important in this game”, he said. “It all presents a lot of challenges for us”.
But it’s been increasingly clear in recent weeks that Washington poses the biggest problem. Pat Freiermuth has done well with the opportunities that he’s had, limited as they’ve been. Jonnu Smith has seen plenty of targets, but with limited production—which isn’t entirely his fault.
Good things tend to happen, however, when Darnell Washington is involved. Whether receiving or blocking, the Steelers see that the offense is better when he is out there. The Bears see that, too, and they’re doing what they can to prepare themselves for the experience.
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