For all of the critics who have called the Chicago Bears "pretenders" throughout the season, they are going to love this. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen met with the Chicago media, today, and was asked about the shape of his unit going into the postseason.
As the Bears get ready to face the Green Bay Packers a third time this season, Allen's unit has really struggled on third down. He acknowledged as much, and his answer is also a little alarming if you think about it:
“Just consistency in what we’re doing. Getting off the field on third down. That’s been the biggest issue we’ve had. Part of it is we’ve played a couple of really good teams the past few weeks.”
Well, that's one way to put it. He isn't wrong. The Bears have played some good offenses over the last few weeks. But, isn't that the point of being a contender? You want to play the good teams -- and beat them.
Dennis Allen confirmed every Bears fan's worst fear heading into Wild Card matchup with Packers
Let's get one thing straight: the Bears' defense is in no way ready to face the best of the best. This unit gives up way too many chunk plays in both phases and, as Allen alluded to, they have been horrific on third down.
Over the last three games (Packers, 49ers, Lions), the Bears are third-worst in the NFL on third downs. They've allowed a conversion on 54.29 percent of drives. The Bears have also given up two fourth-down conversions over that stretch, as well.
This is exactly what every Bears fan has been afraid of. Forget the fact that this offense hasn't gotten off to quick enough starts. That's an issue, yes, but the defensive struggles stick out even more.
To have the "bend but don't break" defense actually work, you've got to get stops on third downs at some point. And, for the record, it cannot be 40-to-50 yards later in the drive, every time. This defense needs to generate some three-and-outs or, at least, drives that end with punts. Let's just start there.
But, looking at how the defense has performed, we can toss out takeaways for a moment. Chicago is still allowing the fourth-most yards per game.
That's startling.
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For all of the talk about how good they've been at generating takeaways, they're still giving up a ton of yards. And, at some point, that's going to bite them. Unless the Bears fix their third-down defense, they're not going anywhere in the postseason -- and Allen knows it.