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Carmen Vitali
NFC North Reporter
Coming into this season, the main priority for the Chicago Bears was to get a full evaluation on quarterback Justin Fields and figure out if he would be the team’s franchise signal-caller going forward.
But it wasn’t the only priority.
The Bears are in year two of a rebuild after bringing in general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus. For much of the season, it looked as if Chicago had remained stagnant from their 3-14 season in 2022. The offense didn’t seem to be clicking and the defense had made no tangible improvement despite Eberflus’ proclivity for that side of the ball.
The latter changed with the arrival of edge rusher Montez Sweat at the trade deadline. The team sent a second-round pick to the Commanders to acquire Sweat, who was set to become a free agent in 2024. The Bears then immediately signed him to a four-year, $98 million contract that makes him the third-highest paid defensive end by average yearly contract value.
The acquisition has paid immediate dividends. Since Week 9, the Bears have fielded a top-five defense. They’ve recorded 11 sacks during that time after having just 10 in the first eight weeks of the season. They’re fifth in total yards allowed per game with 272.2 and are top 10 in points per game allowed since Sweat’s arrival.
Sweat has been the force multiplier they hoped he would be, not only getting sacks himself but opening things up all along the defensive front. Against the Lions on Sunday, defensive tackle Justin Jones had his first multi-sack game of the season.
Chicago has kept up against the run, ranking first or second all season in rushing yards allowed per game. The Bears are allowing just 83.7 yards on the ground per contest, currently behind only the San Francisco 49ers. The team has also shot up in takeaways, recording three or more in their past three games. Since Week 11, the Bears’ 11 takeaways are the most in the…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/improving-bears-all-of-a-sudden-look-like-a-good-landing-spot-for-a-qb
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Publish date : 2023-12-11 21:34:40
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