Did Khalil Mack and the Bears’ defense set the bar too high when they dominated the Packers for a half, then the Seahawks, Cardinals and Buccaneers in the first month of the season?
It sure seems that way after back-to-back disappointing performances against the Dolphins and Patriots took the luster off a fantastic start for Vic Fangio’s crew. But from Akiem Hicks to Danny Trevathan to Eddie Jackson, the Bears still think they’re the same defense that caught the league’s attention in September.
“There’s no concern for our defense,” Hicks said. “I think everybody knows that they can perform at a high level, and when the situation comes, I think that we push to meet the challenge and whatever the circumstances may be. We’ll play in your backyard if you want to.”
Well, the situation is here, and the time is now. The Bears had plausible explanations for crapping out against the Dolphins and Patriots — they clearly wilted in the 89-degree heat in Miami, and Tom Brady is still Tom Brady. But the Jets are just another team trying to break through, with a hot-and-cold rookie quarterback in Sam Darnold and a makeshift supporting cast with running back Bilal Powell and wide receivers Robby Anderson and Quincy Enunwa out with injuries.
The havoc-wreaking level the Bears reached against the Seahawks, Cardinals and Buccaneers was going to be difficult to sustain. The disappointment is that this defense lost its edge. The poor tackling that marked losses to the Dolphins and Patriots was just a matter of fundamentals, technique and, most of all, focus.
“That’s what it looks like; we lost it,” Trevathan said. “And we want to get it back. We want to be the top defense. We played some tough opponents, but that’s not an excuse. Our whole game plan this week is getting back to our defense — having fun with that swagger, that attitude and being physical and being the top defense in the league.”
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The Bears don’t feel they’re that far away from regaining their lost touch. The loss to the Patriots looked worse than it was — the Bears allowed 381 yards and 24 points and only one play longer than 20 yards.
But the Patriots, while missing tight end Rob Gronkowski, came in as one of the hottest offenses in the league — averaging 39.7 points and 462 yards in their previous three games. Like Mitch Trubisky’s performance, it looked worse to us than it did to them.
“Not too bad [but] obviously not good enough,” Fangio said.
The Mack factor is another curious facet to their demise. The Bears were an ascending top-10 defense without Mack last season and added linebacker Roquan Smith, the eighth overall pick in the draft. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but after those first four invigorating games with Mack leading the way in dominant fashion, it seems like this defense is mentally tethered to the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year.
If Mack isn’t 100 percent, it might actually be better if he doesn’t play — not only so Mack can get back to full strength, but so this defense can relearn to swim on its own, if that’s the case.
“We should be [better without Mack],” Trevathan said. “He brings that X-factor for us, but we know we’re a top-10 defense with or without him, and we have to play like it all the time and believe it. No letdowns. No nothing.”
