The Chicago Bears are 2-2 since they acquired Montez Sweat. While the trade has not completely turned things around, and it is not the only thing that helped this change, it is clear that the Bears' defense is playing a different but also better style of football since the addition of Sweat. What are the biggest differences?
3. The Chicago Bears are rushing four less, and blitzing more with Montez Sweat
One of the best parts about adding Montez Sweat is that the Chicago Bears can get consistent pressure without blitzing. As noted in the chart below, the Bears are blitzing less in the last four games than they have all season. However, they are also getting pressure at a higher rate than they would normally.
The Montez Sweat addition has allowed the #Bears to reduce their blitz rate while increasing their pass rush productivity. Here is a look at their week-by-week blitz rates, pressure rates, and PFF pass rush grades. The orange window represents games played with Sweat rostered. pic.twitter.com/PV3sBVkCqw
— Quinten Krzysko (@ButkusStats) November 28, 2023
A lot of this comes down to Sweat. Sweat had a 10% pass rush win rate with Washington, but that has been up to 16% in these past four weeks. He has 2.5 sacks, which is 0.5 away from tying the team lead. His impact has been felt. The Bears have seven sacks in the last three weeks. They had 10 in the eight weeks without Sweat.
Still, it has also made everyone's lives easier. They see more one-on-one matchups and they get to win their matchups more often. When the Bears do blitz, it is more impactful, and when they do not, it means more assets in coverage. The Bears pass defense has been improved. They have seven interceptions in the past two weeks after just six in the first eight without Sweat. Some of that is the health in the secondary, but it is also the help from the pass rush and Montez Sweat.
2. The Chicago Bears are using DeMarcus Walker more creatively
The player most impacted by the Montez Sweat trade was DeMarcus Walker. While his playing time is down in recent weeks, this is for the better and has brought out the best in him. He was on pace for a career-high, and he was being asked to take on too much of a role as an every-down player.
As a rotational edge, Walker is much better and brings more per-snap punch. Since Sweat has been added, Walker saw his pass rush rate go from 8% to 15%. More than that, he has nine pressures in the last two games. Two of his pressures against Minnesota led directly to turnovers.
More than just playing less, he is moving around more. The Bears will push him inside on pass-rushing snaps to get more speed along the interior. They even have a look that features Walker and Sweat on one side, then Gervon Dexter out as an end next to Justin Jones on the other. It gives them the ability to run stunts, twists, and all kinds of games.
More than that, they also have used Walker on the opposite side of Sweat more often. Walker played 14.6 snaps per game against left tackles in the first eight weeks of the season, but that is up to 24.6 in the last four weeks. On Monday, he had 27 snaps on that side.
This allows them to bring a run defense in front of Sweat, Walker, Andrew Billings, and Justin Jones. Walker is now in different roles, but both are their strongest pass-rush and run-stopping groups in the last few weeks.
1. The Chicago Bears do not have to play Yannick Ngakoue as often
Yannick Ngakoue has been a dud for the Chicago Bears. This will easily be the worst year of his career. The issue is that the Bears have not been able to do much about it. He has been awful, but he also is their best rusher based on potential.
Still, before the trade of Montez Sweat, he had a 5.3% pass-rush win rate with two sacks. Since the trade, he added a sack, but his win rate has dropped to 2.7%. He is hardly doing work as a pass rusher, and his run defense has always been an issue. The Bears finally decided to limit his snaps on Monday Night Football.
Ngakoue went from playing over 70% of the snaps in week 11, more than Montez Sweat, to playing just 52% of the snaps. The results were the best we have seen from the Bears' pass rush, which included Ngakoue, who had a 10% pass rush win rate, the best rate of his season. Does the lack of playing time mean a spark in his play, and does this trend continue?