PFF ranks Chicago Bears pass rush the worst single game performance in the NFL since 2021
The Chicago Bears are coming off an awful performance in Week 1, where they were blown out 38-20 by their rival Green Bay Packers. After all the hype in the offseason and newly added players, this fanbase was expecting more, and rightfully so.
One of the areas of the team that needed to be addressed was the offensive line, as last years’ Chicago Bears were swarmed by opposing defensive lineman. Justin Fields was under constant pressure all year, and the run game also struggled to find consistency, leading to a poor 3-14 season. Moves were made in the offseason to bolster the trenches, as the Bears used their first rounder on tackle Darnell Wright, as well as signing guard Nate Davis.
Another unit that desperately needed attention was the defensive line, and in particular the pass rush, which was ranked one of the worst in the NFL last year. Run defense was also a concern. GM Ryan Poles seemed to address or attempt to address this issue in the offseason. He signed EDGE rusher Yannick Ngakoue, and drafted DT’s Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens.
Well, even with all of the new faces, after Week 1, it seems to be the same story as last year. Pro Football Focus said today that the Chicago Bears pass rush had the lowest win rate since 2021 (PFF rankings), as they were credited with just 6 pressures. Historically bad. Their offensive line was also terrible, allowing the Packers to get 35 pressures.
Packers team was credited with 35 pressures, trailing only the Cowboys for most in Week 1 (36).
Bears were credited with 6, and a 10% pass rush win rate that is PFF's lowest mark since 2021.
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) September 11, 2023
Per PFF. the Bears' O-line was … not good:
Nate Davis — 9 pressures (pass-block grade of 7.2)
Lucas Patrick – 5 pressures
Cody Whitehair – 5 pressures, 1 sack, 1 hit
Darnell Wright – 5 pressures
Braxton Jones — 1 pressure (grade of 90.4)— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) September 11, 2023
Now, you can make the argument that the Green Bay Packers defensive front is stacked, and you’d be right. Their pass rush consists of a solid, young group that seemed much hungrier than the Bears yesterday. And there lies the problem. The effort was abysmal. If you saw wide out Chase Claypool during any moment, it would probably make you sick to your stomach to see how little he cared this week.
The offensive line got outworked, overmatched, outplayed, or any other adjective you can think of. It was a bad performance all around, and they’ll need considerable improvement from everyone as a unit if they want to win some games this season.
Where do you go from here if you’re the Chicago Bears?
The film will be a tell-all for Matt Eberflus and the rest of the staff. The effort wasn’t there. However, what else needs to be addressed?
The run defense wasn’t awful, in the first half at least. The soft cover-2 that DC Alan Williams was running was absolutely killing the pass defense on second and third downs, as Jordan Love looked like he could do whatever he wanted back there. No pressure from the front will allow any NFL-level QB to look good. Things need to be changed schematically as well, (not sure that will happen anytime soon) because this isn’t working.
Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on @ESPN1000 that the offense need to take more shots down the field. “We certainly need to threaten the defense down the field and we will get that done.”
— Daniel Greenberg (@ChiSportUpdates) September 11, 2023
That’s just the defense! The offense led by QB Justin Fields was very, very bad. Fields showed the same tendencies in Week 1 that he did all of 2022 – missing open guys, taking too long in the pocket, and just making bad reads – but that wasn’t all of the problem. Fields deserves blame.
Luke Getsy’s gameplan seemed almost, youthful. What was the approach? He didn’t let Fields take much of any deep shots, the run game had little to no life, and it seemed like they had no true identity. He’ll need to look in the mirror this week in order to figure out some sort of plan for another tough defense in Tampa Bay.
Also check Chicago Bears WR Darnell Mooney sheds light on intensity of recent practices and Chicago Bears lose Teven Jenkins to injured reserve
PFF: Darnell Wright a top Chicago Bears offensive player; top and bottom 5 on offense and defense
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