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Bears defense once again shows ability to step up in pressure-filled moments
With a minute to play in Sunday’s game, the Bears defense needed to stop the Rams one more time. While Los Angeles had reached Chicago territory on six possessions, the defense held strong in crucial third-down situations, limiting the Rams to four field goals and one touchdown.
So when the unit took the field to defend the Bears’ 24-18 lead, cornerback and team captain Jaylon Johnson didn’t doubt the unit’s playmaking ability under pressure. It was more a question of: who would rise to the occasion first? The answer: Darrell Taylor and Jaquan Brisker.
On the first play of the drive, Taylor lined up just inside of defensive end DeMarcus Walker and shot through the middle, hitting quarterback Matthew Stafford right as he threw the ball. Brisker saw the pass float through the air and jumped up to snag the ball, sealing the Bears’ win.
“I mean [it’s] just really competing for somebody to make that play,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “Before we all go out, everybody says, ‘I’m going to get a pick. I’m going to get a pick. I’m going to get a pick.’ The D-line is like ‘I’m going to get a strip-sack.’ Kind of just competing all the time [of] who’s going to make that play. So, it was almost DT (Taylor), he almost got there, but for him he’s able to impact the throw and Jaquan is able to get the pick. So just competing all the time and really going out in those moments and make a play.”
While the defense needed to make one more big play on that final drive, the group welcomed the challenge of closing out another win like they did in Week 1 against the Titans.
“I mean for us, that’s what we want,” Johnson said. “Just for us to be able to put the game on our own shoulders. Go out there win a game for us. So, we just look forward to it. … We always trying to find ways to impact the game and then go win the game. Not just when we’re up, but also when we’re down. For us we can defend and score points, so we’re always trying to find ways to win the game best we can.”
Part of the defense’s mentality, particularly in Sunday’s game, stemmed from their frustration of allowing the Rams to have multiple red-zone opportunities.
The Rams totaled 322 yards of offense and 21 first downs, the most given up by the Bears this season in both categories. Still, the Bears remain a top 10 scoring defense, having allowed an average of just 19 points through the first four games.
“It’s just us playing pissed off in the red zone,” Johnson said. “We feel like they shouldn’t have even got there, honestly. We should’ve been better on third down as well. There’s a want and a need to get off the field in those situations where we know after eight, nine, 10 plays, they aren’t going to score a touchdown and we’re going to hold them to a field goal. That’s the mentality, not letting them score.”
