There was a lot of talk about how awesome the Chicago Bears' offense was against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, but their defense didn't show up.
Chicago's offense racked up 552 yards and scored 59 points in the win. It was one of the most impressive performances in franchise history and proved that head coach Ben Johnson was serious about having the best offense in NFL history.
As for the defense, though, it left much to be desired after its poor performance. All fingers are being pointed at general manager Ryan Poles as the main reason for the problem.
Ryan Poles should own the blame for the Bears' defense struggling in the game
Chicago's defense really struggled against the Panthers, and the stats clearly show it. They allowed 478 yards, 353 passing yards, and 37 points in the win.
All eyes were on the secondary and the struggles they had without Kyler Gordon, Coby Bryant, and Xavier Woods in the game. Veterans Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson struggled in the secondary, allowing multiple big plays in the passing game.
After watching the game, the Bears are lucky they had the kind of offensive performance they did. Otherwise, this would have been a brutal loss with more chatter about the defense.
Most people would point the finger at defensive coordinator Dennis Allen for the defense's struggles, since he runs the unit. Poles really need to take the blame.
During the offseason, everyone screamed at Poles to get more pass rushers to help out, and he didn't. The secondary lost so many players and was replaced by Bryant, Woods, and Cam Lewis, which hasn't worked out well so far.
Injuries are part of the game and can't be controlled, but the Poles could have done more by signing key free agents or making the trades they needed to make. Getting someone like Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett in a trade would have helped take the pressure off the secondary.
It felt like Poles left a lot of meat on the table and did little on defense. He had a chance to add more defenders in the draft, but used their second- and third-round picks on offensive players who don't help them right now.
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This may be one game, but 37 points is way too much for the defense to give up and can't be sustainable for the rest of the season. Another performance like that and this team could be in a lot of trouble.
It all falls on Poles for the failures of this defense. He needs to go back to the drawing board and make some calls to add more defensive talent, because this isn't going to work for long.
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