Nickel back Bryce Callahan did nearly everything right.
He played with the correct technique, read Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston’s eyes, then broke quickly on the throw.
The Bears’ first interception of the season was there for the taking.
“I should have had one in Tampa,” Callahan said. “The receiver kind of got it out.”
It still was a good play, but Callahan knows that being close means not being good enough. His pass breakup is an example of how slim the defense’s margin for error is if the Bears are going to play complementary football with Mike Glennon at quarterback.
At that point in the Buccaneers’ eventual 29-7 victory, the Bears trailed 23-0. If Callahan had made the interception, he would’ve prevented Nick Folk’s 50-yard field goal from occurring and given Glennon the ball at midfield or better with two timeouts at his disposal.
Such a scoring chance likely would’ve been squandered by Glennon anyway. But it was the type of opportunity the Bears desperately needed in what became a disheartening loss — and will need moving forward, starting Sunday against the Steelers.
The defense can’t merely keep the Bears in games as it did against the Falcons and Buccaneers. It needs to become the reason the Bears win games because Glennon seems incapable of getting the job done.
“We still need to get takeaways,” Callahan said. “That’s the main thing for our defense. But I feel like we’ve been matching up pretty well.”
The Steelers’ offense won’t be easy to contain. It’s a balanced unit featuring proven game-changers in quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant.
Then again, as coach John Fox said, the Falcons and Buccaneers weren’t exactly “cupcakes.’’
Fault the Bears’ defense for blowing its coverage and tackles on Falcons tight end Austin Hooper’s 88-yard touchdown catch, but the unit still played well enough to give Glennon a chance to win the game in the end. And he didn’t.
The loss to the Buccaneers?
“It never helps when you give them short fields four times in the first half — let’s make that clear,” Fox said. “That’s not a formula for success for anybody. That’s something we have to fix. We can’t be flopping it on the ground that many times in 60 minutes, let alone 30. Obviously, that’s on the offense and the special teams.”
Fans grasping for positives can look at certain developments on the defense.
Members of the new-look secondary said that facing the Falcons (with quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones) and Bucs (with Winston and receivers Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson) have buoyed the unit’s overall confidence.
“Every week, it’s someone special, and that’s not going to change for us this season,” cornerback Marcus Cooper said. “The guys that have come together that were picked to be together by [general manager Ryan Pace] and the coaching staff are ready for that challenge.”
As always, the challenge is coming through with big plays.
The defense needs to get off the field on third downs at a better rate, and it needs to get more takeaways.
If Glennon is going to shake off his Week 2 debacle, having short fields will help him.
But the defense can score, too.
Cooper nearly had a pick-six against the Falcons by jumping Jones’ curl route.
It was a missed opportunity on the first play of a drive that eventually turned into three points for the Falcons. It preceded Hooper’s 40-yard catch-and-run by two plays.
It’s another example of being close but not good enough. But defensive players sound confident that will change soon.
“We just have to attack like we try to do every week,” Cooper said. “We’re not going to sit back scared of anybody.”
Follow me on Twitter @adamjahns.
Email: ajahns@suntimes.com
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