Chicago Bears Good
Dating all the way back to Day 1 of this franchise, the Bears have always been known for their defense.
Seeing how they played last week against the Los Angeles Rams, someone watching them for the first time would have never known that. However, this Sunday Chicago reverted to their old ways and forced their dominance onto the Bengals.
Although the final score may show that this was a close game, the Bears’ defensive unit had a chokehold on Cincinnati for a generous amount of time. More so, late in the third quarter and in the beginning of the fourth quarter.
During this stretch, the Bears caused four turnovers on four consecutive drives. The first was a forced fumble by safety Eddie Jackson, which was recovered by fellow safety Tashaun Gipson Sr. During their next series, inside linebacker Roquan Smith picked off a pass by Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and returned it for a 53-yard touchdown. On Cincy’s next drive, second-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson stepped in front of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins for an interception. Once the defense stepped back onto the field, Chicago’s pass rush collapsed the pocket on Burrow, which allowed inside linebacker Alec Ogletree to deflect a pass that landed in the hands of defensive tackle Angelo Blackson for the Bears’ fourth takeaway of the afternoon.
In addition to the three interceptions, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery, Chicago also recorded four sacks, a far cry from the one sack they registered in Week 1. This type of defensive performance will be highly expected from fans when facing the Browns, whose defense can be just as dominant, in Week 3.