The Chicago Bears defense has possessed a bend-don’t-break mentality through the first month of the season, especially down three key starters in Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and T.J. Edwards. But there’s one area where they need to get better: Run defense.
Sure, the pass rush still isn’t up to par, as they only have five sacks (which ranks 26th in the league). But they are dead last in the league when it comes to defending the run, allowing 658 rushing yards through four games (164.5 yards per game).
But the defense had its worst showing in run defense in Sunday’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, where rookie running back Ashton Jeanty had a breakout game to the tune of 138 rushing yards (with 6.6 yards per carry) and three total touchdowns (including one rushing).
“That’s not what Chicago Bears football is about,” said head coach Ben Johnson. “So we’re working very diligently on getting better in that regard. The most important thing we’re looking at is how do we get better with some of our fundamentals. We’re not shedding blocks to the degree we’d like or at least as consistently as we’d like.”
It’s hard to believe this defense includes many familiar faces from the 2023 season where they had the NFL’s best run defense. Now, as Chicago heads into the bye week, there’s plenty to fix on both sides of the ball, and it starts with the run.
And they’ll need to fix it quick. Following the bye week, the Bears will face a Washington Commanders offense that has the second-best rushing attack, averaging 154.8 yards per game.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson says run defense not up to the standard
