Bears Takeaways: Week 6
6.) Willie Young is a one-man pass rush
The Bears haven’t been able to generate much pass rush this season when they rush just four players (which is 95% of the time), but what little rush they’ve had has come from Willie Young. After three sacks last week, Young added two more on Sunday including a strip-sack of Bortles that was recovered by Akiem Hicks and led to a Bears field goal.
Young leads the team now with six sacks and has been a force the last two games. He’s the only Bear generating any consistent pressure on opposing QBs, and has proven to be well worth the contract extension he signed before the season. Young has been the defense’s best player so far.
7.) Bears defense was solid
The Bears defense shut out the Jags in the first half, breaking a streak of 68 games without a first-half shutout which was the longest streak in the league. The defense came out hot in the 2nd half as well, forcing three & outs on the Jags first three drives. They eventually gave up a touchdown after a questionable roughing-the-passer penalty on a 3rd & seven incomplete pass which extended a Jags drive.
The Bears defense was great against the run all day, holding the Jags to just 54 rushing yards. They weren’t bad against the pass either except for a blown coverage by safety Chris Prosinski that led to the Jags first TD and corner Tracy Porter falling down on a play that the Bears blited their safeties, which left the Jags receiver with a clear path to the end zone and a game-winning touchdown.
The Bears defense deserved better on Sunday, but a few bad breaks and a pathetic second-half game plan ultimately cost them the game.
8.) Momentum changed on a bad call from refs
The Bears defense forced three consecutive three & outs to start the 2nd half and on their way to forcing a punt on the Jags fourth drive when the refs called a questionable facemask penalty on Willie Young and missed two blatantly obvious holding calls on both Jags tackles.
The players, announcers, and everyone watching the game saw the holding penalties, but somehow the ref standing a few feet away missed them. Instead of offsetting penalties and a replay of third down, it gave the Jags a first down and led to a touchdown three plays later.
The blown call changed the momentum of the game and cut the Bears lead to 13-7. It might have been the worst call of the season so far and the Bears defense seemed to fall apart afterward.
9.) Tough day for Jacoby Glenn
The defense played well overall on Sunday, but 2nd-year corner Jacoby Glenn really struggled. He had three penalties on the day, including two pass interference calls and was burned in coverage on at least two Jags catches. I haven’t watched the game tape yet (because it’s disgusting), but on first viewing Glenn had his worst game so far as a Bear.