Last season was not the best for the Chicago Bears' defense, as they struggled with a ton of injuries.
Chicago ranked in the bottom 10 in most defensive categories, with its only strengths being its red-zone defense and, of course, leading the NFL in takeaways with 33. Bleacher Report writer Gary Davenport ranked all 32 NFL defenses, and even with the moves the Bears made, they remain 24th.
"The Chicago Bears were a playoff team last year, but that was more in spite of a defense that allowed the fourth-most yards in the NFL than because of it. That defense has issues again in 2026—at every level. Despite managing just 35 sacks as a team in 2025, the Bears did next to nothing to improve a pass-rush that consists of Montez Sweat and not much else. The team could still add a veteran like Joey Bosa, but getting after opposing quarterbacks is a problem right now. At linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds is gone, replaced by Devin Bush. Bush had easily the best season of his career in 2025 with the Cleveland Browns, but his NFL career has been, um, bumpy. On the back end, there are two new starters at safety in Coby Bryant and first-round rookie Dillon Thieneman. The Bears are still relatively deep at cornerback, but the loss of Nahshon Wright in free agency was a blow."
Bears defense' low ranking won't last long in 2026 season
Chicago made a lot of improvements under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit, as they added safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush to help out. During the draft, the addition of Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman in the first round certainly adds another playmaker to the secondary.
The Bears are much healthier in the secondary after cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon missed more than half the season. Johnson has been to two Pro Bowls, so there's no reason to believe he won't be back to his old form, while Gordon is a top 10 nickel corner when he is healthy.
One major concern with the Bears' defense right now is what will happen to the defensive line. Montez Sweat was the lone star of the unit, as well as Gervon Dexter at tackle, but not much production outside of that.
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Allen has his work cut out for him, but heading into season two, the Bears should play better and have more confidence. There is too much individual talent to let the performance slip a second straight season.
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