Which Chicago Bears players were losers in Week 9 vs. the Saints?
The Chicago Bears could not get out of their own way in their 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. It is never easy to win when the Saints have home-field advantage, but the Bears had too many costly self-inflicted mistakes that kept them from taking advantage of some of the Saints' shortcomings.
While Week 9 did provide some insight into some of the recent questions surrounding the team, it also demonstrated why this team has not been able to string together consistent success. It seems for every step forward there are ten steps backward. Every time something goes well, more goes bad. I hate to be so negative, but that is the reality of the 2023-24 Chicago Bears, at least this far.
Chicago Bears Week 9 Loser No. 1: The new look pass rush
The Chicago Bears went into Week 9 with a new look up front after the trade for DE Montez Sweat. They figured to have him and Yannick Ngakoue off the edge with a mix of Justin Jones and DeMarcus Walker as the main interior pass rushers. The rookie defensive tackles would be rotated in as well, but it would mainly be a veteran-laden defensive line with some more firepower now with Sweat.
Well, the debut of this defensive front did not go very well. They generated little to no pressure on Derek Carr all night and Matt Eberflus was still forced to blitz more than he would like to. This led to the Saints being 7/14 on third down because Derek Carr did not face enough pressure and he knew where to beat the Bears when they blitzed.
Obviously, it will take more than four days for Montez Sweat to acclimate to his new team and new scheme, but even he said, after the game that he was disappointed in his lack of production. He finished his Chicago Bears debut with two solo tackles and a pass knocked down. He flashed a few times in the run defense but did not contribute too much pressure.
He solely focused on not winning his one-on-ones. The fact that he is taking accountability, especially now that he is being paid as a top defensive end in the league, shows that he has the mindset of a star who wants to get better. Still, the Bears will need him to get settled in quickly because once again there was no production from the rest of the defensive line, especially the $10 million dollar man Yannick Ngakoue.
Ngakoue was on my losers list last week after not registering even a tackle. He had one tackle against the Saints. He did not have any pressures and it was another game in which he basically had no impact. Ngakoue is a good pass rusher. He has shown it more than enough in his career, so a combination of the defensive scheme, lack of talent on the line around him, and unfortunately regression have doomed his production so far. Hopefully as he and Sweat gel more they both see their production rise in the coming games.