Bear Digest

Bears 2024 Report Card: Defense and Special Teams Dragged Down

Part 2 of the three-part Bears report card for 2024 reflects how damaging their offensive issues were to the defense and special teams and the end result.

Gene Chamberlain

The defining moment in the season for the Bears and for their defense as the Hail Mary works for Washington, starting a free fall for Chicago.
The defining moment in the season for the Bears and for their defense as the Hail Mary works for Washington, starting a free fall for Chicago. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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Part 2 of 3

The Bears thought they had the defense set going into 2024 and it was their offense where the work really needed to be done.

They found out almost halfway into the season how real complementary football can be.

When the offense failed to pick up the defense, the defense soon began failing to support everyone and collapsed as well.

"I think takeaways in this league is everything," linebacker T.J. Edwards said.

BEARS OFFENSIVE REPORT CARD FOR 2024

FINAL BEARS GRADE OVERALL WITH GM AND COACH

Even though they were a top-10 team in turnover differential, ninth overall, the defense began crumbling for other reasons.

The collapse started with the Hail Mary defeat for the defense. They dropped from seventh in the league overall going into it to 27th overall at season's end.

The coaching, injuries and the rot from a crumbling team foundation all combined to take down what looked like a solid or dominant group at the outset.

The grades for defense and special teams reflect groups weighed down by offensive failure and injuries.

Defensive Line: D+

Six games into the 2024 season, this group seemed much better than they had been projected to be by analysts. Then it came unraveled.

Andrew Billings' surprising impact as an interior pass rusher was part of the reason, and then his season-ending injury and the lack of Gervon Dexter to achieve consistency against the run as a 3-technique combined to hurt them on the ground. When they couldn't stop the run, and didn't have Billings, the pass rush fizzled out. Montez Sweat had a down year after getting paid with a big contract.

Sweat had been voted 82nd best player in the league by NFL.com but he had 5 1/2 sacks and his 22 pressures were 18 less than last season. Dexter made strides as a pass rusher in Year 2 but a 3-technique needs to be a leader or near the top of the team in tackles for loss and he had four. Even backup defensive tackle Byron Cowart and safety Kevin Byard had more TFLs than the Bears 3-technique, and Byard starts plays out 20 yards behind the line.

They had enough solid overall play from Sweat and DeMarcus Walker, and the line as a whole played close to NFL average as pass rushers with 40 sacks after just 31 last year. The 28th-ranked run defense was their undoing.

Linebackers: C-

When weakside linebacker T.J. Edwards failed to lead in tackles, it was obvious some things had gone wrong with the defense. Byard overtook Edwards (130-129), which obviously means too many plays are getting past the front line and linebackers. Edwards still hit career highs in tackles for loss (12) and sacks (4).

The Will linebacker shouldn't be making all the upfield plays in the running game for schemes designed like the one the Bears use, as this is what 3-techniques need to do. Tremaine Edmunds started fast, then had several failed opportunities at takeaways that he made a year ago. His eight pass breakups represented a total like a cornerback makes but his presence often wasn't felt in the run game. Jack Sanborn's play dropped off with a 118.7 passer rating against. However, that and a drop from 65 to 35 tackles resulted more from lack of playing time. They played more nickel scheme and he was on the field only 22% of plays, a career low by 16%.

Secondary: C

One play defined their season. Tyrique Stevenson's failure on the Hail Mary brought down a defense and triggered the total team spiral. Stevenson cut his TD passes allowed from nine to four, lowered his passer rating against to 87.5 from 93.7 and completion percentage allowed from 60.3 to 56.5, but his brain cramps on big downs, and especially that one pass, took down the defense. Jaylon Johnson and Kevin Byard provided stellar, consistent veteran level play, although Johnson did get beat a few more times than in 2023. His Pro Bowl status was deserving based on how often he shut down top receivers, like Justin Jefferson. Kyler Gordon's flash plays against both the run and pass led to a huge leap in productivity and he finished at an elite level, two spots behind Johnson for PFF cornerback grade in 13th.

The toughest blow in back was losing Jaquan Brisker because of his Swiss army knife abilities. He was run support and broke up passes near the line or well downfield. Losing him Oct. 6 became even tougher when their depth was so-so, as they slid from top five in pass defense prior to their bye to 16th.

Special Teams: B

Flash plays like the fake punt return for a touchdown by Josh Blackwell or the consistent spectacular efforts of punter Tory Taylor were countered by the blocked field goals against Green Bay and Minnesota to damage their season. They allowed 10.29 yards allowed per punt return for 20th in the league but they placed 11th in kick return average, fourth in punt return average, were the only team to block two punts and one of only a handful to recover an onside kick--if only they could have blocked well for their own field goals.

Taylor set the Bears record for gross punting average and had the fourth-most punts in team history inside the 20 (34) to stake out the defense with good field position, but too often the defense squandered this or the offense didn't take advantage of what both of the other two units gave them. The complementary football wasn't there and it usually wasn't the fault of special teams. Cairo Santos' culpability in the two blocked field goals is debatable but he remains one of the league's most consistent kickers and in 2024 broke the single-season Bears record for field goals of 50 yards or longer with eight.

Coaching: D-

Richard Hightower's overall excellence this year -- blocked field goals aside -- was countered by the disastrous defensive strategy and approach Matt Eberflus took as the in-game coordinator. Eberflus' decisions on pass coverage and who to rush at the end of the Washington game made possible the Hail Mary. He didn't have them ready at the end of the first half against the Cardinals' running game, either.

They made good decisions defensively in the red zone and were well prepared there all year to finish third in TD percentage allowed, but still finished 10th in total red zone TDs allowed because they gave up so many intrusions into that area of the field.

The telling statistic for Eberflus and the defense overall was their collapse to 28th against the run from No. 1. Everything they do is based on stopping the run and when you can't stop it, then you have no pass rush because players are worrying only about the run defense, and ultimately you can't stop anyone. Eventually even their standout cornerbacks started to give up yardage and plays and they have been expertly coached by Jon Hoke since he arrived to start 2023.

The defense took a decided step back under Eric Washington immediately but then started to recover some of its losses in the final two games.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.