The Chicago Bears defense is searching for redemption following an ugly Week 5 loss to the Oakland Raiders that went against everything the unit is known for.
Sloppy. Bad tackling. Poor execution. Porous run defense. Not exactly something the Bears could’ve been too happy to sit with for two weeks.
While Chicago’s defensive performance against the Raiders was troublesome, it’s not something that should be concerning moving forward. For the first four games, the Bears defense was one of the best in the league. After one stumble, you could still argue that’s the case. One game doesn’t change that, but it was a nice reminder that every week is a new challenge.
“It’s a wake-up call,” Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said, via the Sun-Times. “I wasn’t any good. We didn’t play well. We didn’t execute. … We got away from all the things that we did in the weeks prior, as far as playing great fundamentals, great technique, setting the edge. All the things are a hallmark of a great defense, we just didn’t do.”
Luckily, this defense isn’t defined by a single game. But Sunday’s NFC showdown against the New Orleans Saints presents a unique challenge, as well as a chance for redemption.
“That loss we had to Oakland was not us,” safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix said. “We’ve had a chip on our shoulder this entire bye week just thinking about it…Our mindset is still the same — that’s to be a dominant defense. That’s the emphasis this week.”
The Bears defense will get a chance to prove that they’re still that dominant force Sunday against a Saints offense that’s still rolling even without quarterback Drew Brees.
