People have liked to jump on the Chicago Bears defense for their own misfortunes. In all honesty, how is that possible. No, seriously. Have fans truly stopped for a second to understand what they’re doing? This Bears defense may not be the #1 unit in the NFL like last year. They’ve had their fair share of tough moments. However, if one were to just stop and look at the big picture they would realize that this defense is still special even if it’s not showing in the stat column.
Let’s paint the picture. The Bears defense through 11 games is ranked 4th in points allowed and 4th in total defense. They are on track to give up just 273 points total in 2019. That’s actually 10 points fewer than last season. If that’s not impressive enough, the conditions in which they’ve continued to accomplish this are incredibly unique. Here’s a revelation for you.
No Bears defense in the Super Bowl era has ranked in the top 5 of the NFL while being paired with a bottom 5 offense. Right now Chicago is 28th in scoring and 30th in total offense. They are among the worst of the worst. For the defense to still be as effective as they are under such conditions is rare.
How rare? Only one other unit has accomplished it in the Super Bowl era. That was the 1993 defense who saw their own offense score 19 points or less in 13 of their 16 games.
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Chicago Bears defense isn’t perfect but they’re not the problem
People need to stop and think for a second. What would this team look like if the defense was just average? Would the Bears even have a win this year? That’s how bad the offense has been. It’s okay to not be satisfied with everything they do. The defense is not perfect. They make their share of mistakes. Their performances in the 4th quarter are still a very real problem after allowing their second 97-yard touchdown drive of the season in the final 15 minutes.
That being said, when they have no running game to help keep them fresh and are almost never playing with a lead? What they’ve accomplished deserves the utmost respect. They’re playing under the worst possible conditions. It would be so easy to lose the will to play hard each week knowing you won’t get much help. These guys haven’t let it go down like that. They continue to play hard and give their team chances to win.
That’s all anybody can ask for.
