Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Jared Allen – The transition to 3-4 OLB has gone smoother than expected for Allen who has shown the ability to defend against both the run and pass. Allen made a couple nice run stops and has held his own when asked to cover in the flat. He didn’t show much of a pass rush, but the Bengals offense got rid of the ball so quickly on most plays that there wasn’t much of a chance for Allen to get to the QB anyway. OLB may be the only position the Bears are deep at after getting solid preseason play from McPhee, Allen, Houston, Acho, and Willie Young.
Eddie Goldman – The Bears defense wasn’t great overall, but their run defense was pretty solid in the first half and Goldman played a big part in that. He was rarely moved off the line and generated interior pressure more often than not. When the Bengals had the ball inside the 5-yard line, Goldman clogged the center of the line on two of the three plays and drove his blocker two yards into the backfield on one of them. Goldman is still inconsistent, as most rookies are, but has flashed the ability to be a force in the middle of the line.
Kyle Fuller – Only gave up 1 catch for 4 yards and made a couple nice tackles on short pass plays. Fuller is expected to make a leap in his 2nd season with the Bears and showed some flashes on Saturday of being a shut down corner and a solid tackler.
Cornelius Washington – After a strong debut in week 1, Washington didn’t play last week, but got right back to it in limited snaps vs the Bengals. Washington generated pressure on two of the 13 pass plays he was in for and made 2 solid stops near the line of scrimmage against the run. I’ve been high on Washington since the Bears drafted him and think he could be a valuable reserve at DE while providing special teams value.