5 pleasant surprises for Chicago Bears in the first half of 2023 season

3. The Chicago Bears defense is getting better

The Chicago Bears defense looked like a complete disaster in week one. When the Chiefs hung 41 points on them, they were banged up, and they did not have a defensive coordinator, it looked like there were no signs of progress. 

However, things slowly turned around. The playcalling improved, and the personnel got healthier. They also upgraded with Montez Sweat. 

The secondary started and finished a game together with their best five for the first time all season. With Montez Sweat, the Bears are able to move DeMarcus Walker around more. It allows them to use better run defense and pass-rush groupings. 

The run defense went from an embarrassment and one of the worst in the NFL to one of the best in the NFL right now. The pass defense gets better every week. This is what we thought would happen with the defense this year. It took a few weeks, but the unit looks good after ten weeks.