The Chicago Bears must be aggressive and attack the Falcons secondary
Where the Atlanta Falcons defense really struggles is versus the pass. Outside of Keanu Neal, the team does not have many talents in the defensive backfield. A.J. Terrell was the team’s first-round draft pick this year, but the Chicago bears rookie corner Jaylon Johnson has looked more the part of a first-rounder. Terrell has allowed 88.9 percent of his targets to be completed along with a touchdown for a 148.6 quarterback rating.
Fellow defensive backs Isaiah Oliver and Damontae Kazee have not looked any better. Oliver has allowed 68.8 percent of his targets to be completed for a quarterback rating of 120.3. Although Kazee has only been targeted twice this season, he has allowed both catches to be made for a total of 25 yards and a 118.7 quarterback rating.
It should also be noted that although Keanu Neal has been great in the past, this season has been a different story. He has allowed all 8 of his targets to be completed for an average of 17 yards per attempt. This is a good sign for Mitch Trubisky who has been more aggressive pushing the ball downfield this season. He has an intended-air-yards-per-attempt of 9.3 yards and his completed-air-yards-per-completion is 7.4. Both are up respectively from last season at 8.0 and 5.3.
Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky need to find a way to attack Terrell and others through the passing game. Trubisky and company are entering Week 3 of the NFL season. The rust needs to come off in this one if the team has any hopes of walking away 3-0. The timing between Trubisky and the receivers needs to be on point and watching Anthony Miller drop touchdowns cannot happen anymore.
Throughout the first two games of the 2020 season, the Atlanta Falcons have given up an average of 262 passing yards per game to receivers. On top of that, the defense has allowed another 81 yards per game to the tight end position. During that span, the tight end position was able to score two touchdowns while wide receivers have scored only one. Overall, including the running backs, the Falcons have given up five touchdowns through the air. The Bears need to add a few more.