The thrill of victory can sometimes overshadow big problems at hand. That might be one feeling Chicago Bears fans are having after their thrilling 47-42 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9.
Chicago's defense got exposed big time, allowing a banged-up 40-year-old Joe Flacco to throw for 470 yards and four touchdowns against them. The Bears allowed 15 points within a minute after the two-minute warning when they led 41-27.
Despite the poor performance from the defense, that won't stop Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds from being happy with the win, even if he knows there are things they must work on.
"Yeah I think once we're up, I think the key message is just making sure we find ways to close a game better. When we have a team where we want them not to let out hand off the rope and just to pull tighter and figure out a way to close a game in the way that we want to close it. All that being said, I never apologize for winning. At the end of the day, that's all it's about is winning."
Edmunds was far from the problem for Chicago vs. Cincinnati
If Bears fans watch the tape of the game, Edmunds was all over the place and played exceptionally well. He led Chicago in tackles with nine, while adding a pass deflection, and had the biggest play of the game with his interception in the red zone late in the fourth quarter. Despite his return for a touchdown being called back, that play prevented any more damage from being done to the Bears.
Chicago's defense has a lot of work to do prepping for its Week 10 matchup against the Giants, with most of the focus on the secondary. The defensive line got some attention with the trade of Joe Tyron-Shoyinka to help replace the injured Dayo Odeyingbo.
One position group that is in a solid position? The linebackers with Edmunds and T.J. Edwards playing well, and Noah Sewell being a reliable third linebacker for them.
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With all that work being done on the defense, the hope is that they can improve immediately and not have to rely on the offense to score over 40 points a game for them to win.