The Chicago Bears have some very high hopes for their team in 2024. They ended the last 8 games of the 2023 season going 5-3 with 2 late 4th quarter losses to the Lions and the Browns. Had a few things gone differently we could have seen the Bears going 7-1 during that stretch.
How did the Bears manage to improve during that time? Well, the Bears had one of the best rush defenses in the league in the last 8 games. A strong rush defense relieves pressure off the secondary and enables them to perform at their peak. This was evident from their impressive plus 12 turnover margin during that period.
Will the Bears continue this kind of defensive success in 2024?
Kyler Gordon sure seems to think so. Gordon on what the Bears defense expects to do this season "We have a goal of 20 and 20, 20 interceptions and 20 fumbles. However we gotta get it, we're gonna get it."
The standard is set
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 6, 2024
The defense has high expectations, and from the sound of it, they are ready to back them up. During a recent 7-on-7, the Bears' defense was reportedly loud and disruptive. Bears newest wide receiver Kennan Allen on the Bears' defense: " They look like a top-five defense, and they sound like a top-five defense, too. Defenses are annoying, especially at practice. You just hear them every time they make a play."
Having this high of praise come from a veteran like Kennan Allen shows that the Bears defense is not just all talk but that they have some bite too.
With all of the high expectations for this Bears offense with all of the new additions, it could be the defense that steps up and helps them win games this year. Time will soon tell if the Monsters of the Midway are indeed back.