Bear Digest

Bears Pass Rushers Looking for Closers Label After Packers Failure

The Bears defensive front, including Montez Sweat, were taking some heat for the way Green Bay drove downfield in the fourth quarter for the game-winning points.

Gene Chamberlain

Kevin Byard knocks Jordan Love out of bounds but just inches short of the goal line after he escaped the pocket Sunday, setting up the game-winning points.
Kevin Byard knocks Jordan Love out of bounds but just inches short of the goal line after he escaped the pocket Sunday, setting up the game-winning points. / Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images
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Since the arrival of Montez Sweat, the Bears hadn't been hurting for a pass rush.

Coach Matt Eberflus made it apparent on Monday the overall pass rush has been disappointing of late, particularly in Sunday's loss to Green Bay.

"Definitely need a better coordinated pass rush," Eberflus said. "Getting on the quarterback, HOQ–hitting the quarterback. Again, that's something we have to look at. We have to be better there for sure.

"That's something we are going to look at this week for sure. It's something we have to be coordinated with and have a better result."

The Bears have lost the interior rush they benefited from this year with Andrew Billings, as he was a surprise as a solid pass rusher when he was expected to be their run plug. Billings had been fifth in pass rush win rate and when he was in the lineup sidekick Gervon Dexter was rated in the top 10 as well. He has since dropped all the way to 20th after Billings underwent surgery.

The Bears had only 11 pressures in the game per Pro Football Focus' statistics, after averaging 18.2 on the year for the first nine games.

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"We just go to be better up front," Montez Sweat said after the game. "The rush lanes were breaking down a little. We got to have a better chip plan. It's just a lot of things that we could be more detailed on."

Sweat has just 14 pressures with his 3 1/2 sacks, according to Stathead/Pro Football Reference.

As a team, the Bears have dropped in sacks to 14th at 2.5 per game, after they had been top 10 through the first eight weeks.

On the year overall, they still rank fifth in pressure percentage according to Stathead at 26.4%, and fifth in quarterback knockdown percentage.

The bottom line, though, was Green Bay's defense started off the final drive of the game with back-to-back sacks of Bears QB Caleb Williams, while the Bears' pass rush not only failed to get a sack on Green Bay's go-ahead drive but they also allowed Jordan Love to escape outside on a 13-yard scramble to the 1-yard line to make his 1-yard QB sneak for a TD possible.

"It's on us," Sweat said. "We've got to close the game."

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.