After allowing 426 yards to the Lions in the season opener, the Bears’ defense looked more like the dominant unit it’s expected to be against the Giants.
Robert Quinn had a strip-sack on the first series, Deon Bush had an interception on the second series and the Bears held the Giants to 295 yards and 13 points in a 17-13 victory.
“We’re just so used to always holding everybody to 90 total yards of offense — everybody gets a little spoiled,” defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said. “That didn’t happen in Week 1. We were better last week. If you hold any offense under 300 yards and to 13 points, you’d take it every single day of the week.”
Pagano knows his defense will have to take another step — probably a much bigger one — against the Falcons on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Falcons (0-2), are tied for third in the NFL in scoring (32.0 points per game) after scoring 39 points in a 40-39 loss to the Cowboys.
Quarterback Matt Ryan is off to a hot start. He threw for 425 yards in a loss to the Seahawks in Week 1. He threw four touchdown passes against the Cowboys. He has four prime targets in Julio Jones (11 catches, 181 yards), Calvin Ridley (16-239, four touchdowns), Russell Gage (15-160, one touchdown) and tight end Hayden Hurst (8-110, one touchdown).
“We’re gonna have our work cut out,” Bears safety Tashaun Gipson said. “But … you get hyped for these types of games. Good on good and show everybody how the game go.”
Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowl receiver and two-time All-Pro, is nursing a hamstring injury. But if he’s healthy — and even if he isn’t — it’ll be the biggest test for the Bears cornerback trio of Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson and Buster Skrine.
“For the secondary, we know it’s a big week,” Bears safety. Eddie Jackson said. “With [Julio], Calvin and even [Gage] has come along well. So we’re going to have our hands full. We’re up for the challenge. We’re going to play our game, stay on top of our keys and control the game very well, and things will go in our favor.”
The Bears’ defense has earned the right to feel it controls its destiny, even against top-flight offenses. And despite ranking 17th in the NFL in yards allowed, they have some factors in their favor. Quinn will be playing in his second consecutive game instead of his first in nine months. Rookie Jaylon Johnson, impressive in his first two NFL games, will be playing in his third. And as a unit, the rust of an abbreviated offseason is off.
“I think we’re really close [to playing four consistent quarters],” Gipson said. “That’s what makes good teams great and great teams the best — putting it together.
“I don’t want to make excuses but I’ve been playing football for eight years [and] this is the first time we’ve all been in a unique situation like this [COVID-19]. There are a lot of plays that we take [the] onus on, but I think once people continue to get into the groove of things and into the flow of football instead of tagging off and thudding your own teammates — these are live bullets on Sunday … I think we’ll be able to put it together.”
Rising to the challenge was a hallmark of the 2018 defense, and to a lesser extent in 2019 without defensive end Akiem Hicks for much of the season. This will be the first test of that crucial characteristic in 2020.
“We’re gonna have to play lights out. These guys can score points, as many as anyone in the league right now,” Pagano said. “Where we went from Week 1 to Week 2, we’re gonna have to take another huge jump.”
