As if Khalil Mack’s motivation to play against the Raiders isn’t enough, even linebacker Danny Trevathan is ready to step it up in support of Mack against his former team.
“I know I want to get it for him. I know guys on defense want to get it for him,” Trevathan said. “Just coming from a situation like that. … It definitely adds a little bit of fuel for me, because I know what type of person he is. He’s not going to say much, but he’s going to work his tail off and he’s going to go to work. And we’re going to have his back.”
If this is the week to celebrate the Bears acquisition of Mack in a trade with the Raiders prior to the start of last season, you have to include arguably the biggest impact of all — Mack’s raising the bar for his teammates and motivating them to meet his standard instead of just their own.
Fueled by Mack’s impressive start to the season — including 4.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two tackles-for-loss — the Bears defense has maintained the standard of excellence it set last year under Vic Fangio.
And worth noting even at this early juncture because the Bears’ defense was considered ripe for a regression after Fangio left to become the head coach of the Broncos. It’s too early for Chuck Pagano to take a victory lap, but four games is enough to state the obvious: the Bears defense is not in regression. In fact, if the Bears indeed are just “warming up” as Mack put it following the 16-6 victory over the Vikings last week, at this point the Bears’ defense is closer to take a step forward than backward in 2019.
The Bears are fifth in total defense, second in points allowed, third in rushing defense, 12th in passing defense (though fifth in passing yards per attempt) and fourth in sacks. With eight takeaways, they are on a pace for 32 this season — not too far off last year’s 36 that generally has been considered the toughest number to match.
It’s not quite to the standard of last season, when the Bears became the first team since the 2013 Super Bowl champion Seahawks to finish in the top-10 in all 11 major defensive categories kept by the NFL. But they’re within range.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Pagano said. “We love where we’re at as a football team. We love where we’re at as a defense. But we’ve got miles and miles to go. It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”
This year’s team arguably exceeded the 2018 standard with a stellar performance against the Vikings. Wthout three starters, including defensive end Akiem Hicks and linebacker Roquan Smith, the Bears shut down NFL leading rusher Dalvin Cook (14 carries, 35 yards, 2.5 avg.) and sacked Kirk Cousins six times.
The Vikings didn’t score until Cook’s two-yard run with 2:58 left — a good example, Pagano said, of the room for improvement that motivates this defense to keep its foot on the gas.
“There’s still a lot of stuff on tape,” Pagano said. “They’d all tell you, we want a shutout. There nothing like the National Football League — shutting a team out. That [Cook touchdown] hurt. As good as you play, we all felt that, because it was right there.”
The current pace will be difficult to maintain. But with Mack in the lead, the Bears have legitimate expectations of taking it to yet another level.
“That’s the goal — total domination,” Pagano said. “Wreak havoc, but total domination. The great thing about all those guys [is they think], ‘I can do better.’ I can put them in better situations. There’s things we can clean up. Tackle better. Discipline. Communication. There’s a ton to work on.”
