Chicago Bears: 3 Things needed to keep playoff hopes alive

2. Defense Needs to be Dominant Again

Do not get me wrong, the Chicago Bears defense is very good. However, during the last four weeks, the defense has struggled. Whether it’s being fatigued, or injury-plagued it seems that offenses are finding small cracks in the gameplan to score. While it hasn’t been an intense amount of scoring, it’s just enough, especially when the Bears offense is not holding up their end of the bargain.

The Bears’ defense needs to get dominant again and make opposing offenses fear them. They need to produce more takeaways, and the defensive front needs to cause pressure. Right now, there are still takeaways and sacks but they are more and more sporadic to what we have become accustomed too.

The injury bug has swept in and taken over the Bears defense, however, this should not be a concern. The Bears defense is so talented that when one star goes down, another one should step up. Nick Kwiatkowski is a prime example of someone who has been asked to take on a bigger role.

If you asked me what I thought of him at the beginning of the year, I would have told you I don’t expect him to make the practice squad. However, he has had two incredible games where he was called upon. Injuries happen frequently in the NFL and it’s vital that the Bears don’t use this as an excuse.