10 questions emerging from Chicago Bears win over Carolina Panthers

9. How is Montez Sweat progressing with the Chicago Bears?

The Chicago Bears added Montez Sweat right before the trade deadline, and he was able to play two quick games for the team. Sweat came in on a Tuesday and played that weekend. Then, the Bears played a Thursday game, so he has not had a normal schedule week with the team yet. 

Still, in the first game, he played 65% of the defensive snaps, and against Carolina, he was bumped up to 73%. The move Bears saw Sweat make a few impact plays both weeks, even though he has not recorded a sack. 

He has ten pressures in two games, with seven coming last week. Three of the seven pressures were quarterback hits. In the last two games, he leads the Chicago Bears in pass rush win rate and pass rush production, per PFF. His win rate is 12.3% in two weeks. For comparison, Yannic Ngakoue is at 4.5% this year and 1.6% all season. Even Sweat was at 10.6% in the first eight games, so he looks to be as good, if not better, since coming to Chicago.

Sweat has also pushed DeMarcus Walker into a more versatile role. He was able to sub out Yannick Ngakoue on early downs and step in for Andrew Billings on some passing downs. It improves the depth in a big way.

Now, with the mini-bye, there is a good chance that Sweat will be well-adjusted and playing his best.