Chicago Bears Defense: The best in the NFL
There is no defense in the NFL better than the one in Chicago.
All is right in the NFL again because the Chicago Bears have the best defense in the NFL.
Sorry, Baltimore fans.
Back up, Jacksonville.
Nice try, Minnesota.
Noble effort, Buffalo.
There is no team in the NFL that dominates offenses like the Chicago Bears’ defense has this season. The Bears are at the top, or near the top of the league in just about every statistical category you could want.
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They are 4th in points allowed, giving up just 19.5 points per game. In terms of yardage, the Bears are even better sitting at third giving up just 314 yards per game. What’s even more impressive is the amount of yardage the Bears have given up at the end of games when going prevent to protect a multiple score game (see Seattle, Detroit, Minnesota), I’m sure some of the other teams have yielded yardage in prevent defenses, but doubtful they’ve done it at the clip Chicago has. What does that mean? It means when the Bears play their game, teams just aren’t moving the ball.
Chicago is second in the NFL in first downs allowed. Jacksonville has surrendered 180 first downs, the Bears just 183. In terms of third down conversions, the Bears are also good for third in the league, allowing a conversion just 35% of the time.
How about sacks? The Bears are fourth.
Now let’s get to some even jucier stats.
Rushing touchdowns allowed? The Bears are first with just two TDs allowed. Rushing yards per game? The Bears are first. Rushing yards per attempt? The Bears are first. In other words, you can’t run on the Bears’ D.
If you can’t run on the Bears’ D, you better throw on the Bears’ D, right?
Well, that doesn’t work either. Quarterbacks have only a 79.4 passer rating, that’s the lowest in the NFL. That probably has something to do with the 18 interceptions (that’s right, 18!) the Bears have, which is, coincidentally, also tops in the NFL.
Before you sit there and throw out “schedule!” as a reason the Bears are dominating opponents. That’s hard to hang your hat on that aspect when 4 of the top 10 passing offenses have faced this Bears defense.
The stats back it up, the Bears defense is the best in the league on paper. When you watch this unit play, the eye test confirms it. Nobody in the league is dominating offenses like the Chicago Bears’ defense.
The Bears offense isn’t quite ready for primetime. Mitch Trubisky is still inconsistent but when he’s peak Trubisky, the offense is tough to stop as well, but Chicago’s D is definitely ready for primetime.
One thing we’ve seen, defenses that are this good can carry an offense during the playoffs. Could it happen again this year? Certainly crazier things have happened. The Bears are ahead of schedule and their window to compete for a Super Bowl appearance might even arrive one year early.