As we’ve been doing for several years now, we’ll break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual standpoint. This year, Jonathan Heitritter and I will cover the opposing team’s defense. I will focus on the scheme, Jonathan on the players.
Today, we are scouting the Chicago Bears’ defense for Week 12’s game against Pittsburgh.
Alex’s Scheme Report
Bears’ Run Defense
The Bears run a four-down/event front. The run defense has not been good this season. Chicago is allowing 133.3 rushing yards per game, ranking 25th in the league. Per carry, the Bears are allowing 5.2 yards, tied for 29th with the Cincinnati Bengals. One bright spot is the relatively small nine rushing scores allowed this year.
Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is far and away the team’s leading tackler. He has 89 of them this season and rarely comes off the field. Edmunds has played over 97 percent of the Bears’ snaps. He’s really come on strong as a high-prized free agent selection who took time to warm up in Chicago.
As a unit, the Bears have allowed 38 runs of 10 or more yards, tied-25th in the NFL. Chicago is a good tackling team with only 57 missed tackles.
The most interesting note about Chicago’s defense is it does not match personnel. The Bears stay in a 4-2-5 nickel even against heavy personnel. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson has been used as a hybrid nickel/linebacker who plays in the box. But against 12 or 21 personnel, Chicago will remain in nickel.
Something for Pittsburgh to test and could play in its favor going 12 or 13 personnel. Run the ball knowing Chicago will stay “light.” Reminds me of what the Las Vegas Raiders have done with Nate Hobbs or Buffalo Bills with Taron Johnson, though the latter was a smaller nickel corner than a big safety.
Power/gap schemes, however, have not been effective against the Bears in recent weeks. Chicago does a good job of wrong-arming pullers and disrupting the scheme’s track.
More inside zone looking for the cutback and duo would be the plan in this one.
Elsewhere, the defense is allowing 26.4 points per game. That’s 26th in the league. It’s been a feast/famine group allowing 30 or more points in three games and 20 or less in four others. Chicago ranks 28th in yards at 364.6. Situationally, the Bears have been impressive here: second on third down (33.7 percent) and 13th in red zone (58.3 percent).
Chicago enters the week No. 1 in takeaways with a whopping 22. The next-closest team has 18. Chicago has forced three or more in five games. That’s most in the NFL with 30 other teams have no more than three such instances this season.
Bears’ Pass Defense
A talented and aggressive unit. Chicago is allowing 231.3 passing yards per game, a 67.6-percent completion rate, and a 7.8 YPA (which ranks tied-29th entering Week 12). The pass rush hasn’t been especially strong, generating only 21 sacks and a 17.9-percent pressure rate. Both are well below-average. The blitz rate, however, is on the high end at 25.7 percent. That’s 12th league-wide.
Montez Sweat leads the pack with 8 tackles for loss, 10 QB hits, and 5.5 sacks. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter has four sacks, second behind Sweat.
The group to watch here are the defensive backs. It’s an aggressive and splash-play group. Combined, Bears defensive backs have totaled: 11 interceptions, nine QB hits, five sacks, and four forced fumbles.
Despite just arriving three games ago, Gardner-Johnson has been an impact player. He has three sacks and a forced fumble since joining the team and has played every single snap the last two weeks.
But it’s Kevin Byard who leads the team in interceptions. In fact, his five leads the league and his 34 career snags ranks second among active players only behind Harrison Smith’s 37. Edmunds has four interceptions to lead NFL linebackers while Nahshon Wright has four picks himself, including a pick-six.
There is a boom/bust group with this unit, too. Chicago has allowed 38 completions of 20-plus yards, equaling the number of 10-plus yard runs the Bears have given up. Those 38 completions tie for the league-high, too.
Schematically, the Bears run a lot of two-high and quarters coverages, especially against 2×2 formation. Under veteran DC Dennis Allen, Chicago also plays plenty of “match” coverage with defenders carrying routes based on the route combination. It’s not specific to a pre-snap man but varies depending on how the routes work together. Watch here as the cornerback to the bottom, instead of staying in the flat like in “spot drop” Cover 2, he carries the route vertically because both routes to that side are vertical.
Chicago will put plenty of heat in passing situations. The popular Cover 0 sim pressure looks, but the team often drops out, too. Still, you never know exactly who is coming and going. The Bears pair this with a ’00 tech’ with an off-ball linebacker over the center or a nose tackle, dual three techs, and Wide 9 defensive ends. Example here showing the aerial view (seeing more match coverage with the 1st in/1st out rules against bunch) and the stunt off this pressure look.
Also, the Bears will “lie” with its coverages. They can follow motion to suggest man but play zone instead. It’s harder to get a read on this group for man/zone clues.
When the Bears blitz, alert No. 9 Jaquan Brisker from the field. Chicago is vulnerable to double-moves and fake bubble screens, something Pittsburgh could take advantage of. The Bears were beat on Yankee concepts (Post/Over) earlier this year but seemed to clean those issues up last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Chicago also does a nice job taking away play-action.
Jonathan’s Individual Report
The Pittsburgh Steelers got back into the win column on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, pushing them to 6-4 on the year. They will now play the Chicago Bears who are 7-3 on the year and are enjoying a strong season under first year head coach Ben Johnson.
The Bears defense currently ranks 26th in the league in total points allowed and 27th in the league in total yards allowed. However, they are tops in the league when it comes to generating turnovers, having 22 on the year. They rank 23rd against the pass and 24th against the run but have a league-leading 15 interceptions on the year.
Defensive Line
The defensive line is headed by No. 50 Grady Jarrett, who is in his first season with Chicago after playing 10 years with the Atlanta Falcons. Jarrett is a tad undersized (6-1, 294 pounds), but plays with great explosiveness and quickness, beating interior blockers with speed as well as power. He’s a strong gap penetrator that needs to be accounted for in this matchup.
Starting opposite of Jarrett is No. 99 Gervon Dexter, who is starting to come into his own in his second season as a full-time starter after being drafted in the second round three years ago out of Florida. He has 23 total tackles, four tackles for loss, four sacks and two fumble recoveries on the year, having the size and length (6-6, 326 pounds) to overwhelm blockers at the point of attack.
Providing depth for Chicago inside is No. 97 Andrew Billings, who is a big space eater in the middle of the defense, standing 6-1, 340 pounds. No. 96 Jonathan Ford is another big run plugger, and No. 91 Chris Williams.
EDGE
Starring on the edge for Chicago is No. 98 Montez Sweat, who is in his second full season with the Bears after being traded by the Washington Commanders. Sweat is a freak, standing 6-6, 270 pounds but ran in the 4.4s at the NFL Combine, having legit speed and burst. He does a great job using that length as a run defender to set the edge as well as on a long arm and to work the arc as a pass rusher, being a guy who RT Troy Fautanu will have to try and lock down on Sunday.
Starting opposite of Sweat is No. 94 Austin Booker, who in his second season in Chicago after being a fifth-round pick last year. Booker is a twitched-up athlete, having the explosiveness to win around the corner as well as chase down the ball in pursuit. He stands 6-6, 245 pounds and is an underrated player Broderick Jones will see plenty of this weekend.
The Bears acquired No. 93 Joe Tryon-Shoyinka at the trade deadline from the Cleveland browns and he adds depth upfront as well as No. 90 Dominique Robinson, who has 1.5 sacks on the year as a smaller sub-package player. No. 92 Daniel Hardy also adds depth on the edge for Chicago.
Linebackers
At linebacker, the man to watch out for is No. 49 Tremaine Edmunds. The brother of former Steelers S Terrell Edmunds, Tremaine is a physical freak at the position, standing 6-4, 251 pounds and can run like a deer in the open field. He has posted eight-straight seasons of 100-plus total tackles and is well on his way this year with 89 total stops through 10 games. He also has four interceptions and nine pass deflections so far on the year, making him a name to account for in all situations.
No. 53 T.J. Edwards has missed time after having hand surgery earlier in the year and is dealing with a hamstring injury, so his status for Sunday is currently up in the air. Starting in his place has been No. 44 Noah Sewell who is a good run stuffer up the middle but has struggle in coverage ever since coming out of Oregon in the draft. He is a name to target if he’s on the field on passing downs. No. 48 D’Marco Jackson provides plenty of special teams value as well as No. 45 Amen Ogbongbemiga and No. 47 Ruben Hyppolite II.
Cornerbacks No. 1 Jaylon Johnson and No. 9 Kyler Gordon have both been on IR with respective injuries with Johnson having his 21-day window activated last week, meaning he could return for this week’s game if he’s up to speed. Gordon has spent four weeks on IR and is eligible to return, but hasn’t had his window activated, making the chances of him playing less than Johnson.
No. 29 Tyrique Stevenson got hurt last week against the Vikings with a hip/calf injury, but there’s a good chance he can suit up on Sunday. Stevenson has been serviceable in coverage, but he’s a sound, physical tackler. Still, Stevenson can have problems keeping up with speed at wideout, causing him to latch on and hold.
No. 26 Nahshon Wright has stepped in and played well with Chicago’s corners on the shelf, starting nine games this season and has four interceptions, eight pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, 43 total tackles and three tackles for loss. Wright stands 6-4, 199 pounds, having great length and size to cover bigger receivers like DK Metcalf, who he’ll likely see plenty of on Sunday.
Starting at the nickel for Chicago is No. 35 C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who has spent time with the Texans and Ravens this season. Gardner-Johnson has three sacks in three games with Chicago, one of which was a strip sack as a physical tackler that can also take the ball away, having 18 interceptions to-date in his career. No. 24 Nick McCloud also provides depth for Chicago on the outside and No. 39 Josh Blackwell is more of a slot player and No. 33 Jaylon Jones is more of a special teamer.
Safeties
Starting at safety for Chicago is No. 31 Kevin Byard, who currently leads the league with five interceptions on the year. The 32-year-old is a seasoned vet, having the instincts and ball skills to run to the ball at free safety and jump passes for picks. A capable tackler as well, Byard is a name to watch out for on the backend.
Starting opposite of Byard is No. 9 Jaquan Brisker who is more of a strong safety for Chicago who plays closer toward the line of scrimmage in run support. Brisker is physical and does a great job pursuing the football in as a run defender or on the blitz as a pass rusher, but also is capable at dropping into coverage. Still, if Pittsburgh were to target one safety over the other, Brisker would be the guy with a 72 percent completion rate and three touchdowns allowed this year according to Pro Football Reference.
Providing depth at safety for Chicago is No. 22 Elijah Hicks and No. 36 Jonathan Owens.
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