Chicago Bears: 3 Goals for the Chicago Bears defense in 2020

The Chicago Bears defense regressed in 2019, but here are three goals for 2020.

In 2018, the best defense in the league hailed from Chicago. The Chicago Bears‘ unit was unstoppable with the addition of Khalil Mack and breakout stars like Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson. As a Bears fan, I picked this defense for my fantasy team and gave me an instant advantage in every matchup.

It wasn’t surprising, but this very same defensive unit regressed in 2019. With a few roster losses and the departure of Vic Fangio, it was completely anticipated. In fact, many fans and experts were actually surprised by how well this team’s defense held up under new defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

That being said, the numbers still dropped from the previous season. The Bears forced turnovers at a rate of almost 20% in 2018, a number that was cut in half this past season. The first-place finishes in points against, forced turnovers, rushing yards, touchdowns allowed, turnover rate, and yards per pass all disappeared quickly.

These numbers were all replaced with above-average marks; numbers that are respectable if there is an offense to back them up. Regardless, there are two sides of the football and if the offense can’t get it together, the defense has to step up once again.

That’s what made this unit so successful two years ago. Trubisky wasn’t playing well, but it didn’t matter because the defense was scoring almost as frequently as the offense. There were guys like Eddie Jackson with more touchdowns than most wide receivers in this league had accumulated.

In order to get back to national prominence, this unit has to make strides back toward 2018. Here are three goals for the Chicago Bears’ defense in 2020.