Bears had 'a lot of dirty hands' in defensive debacle. But players aren't panicking 2 games in.

Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune on Sep 18, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CHICAGO — The sky isn’t falling in Chicago, even though it might feel like it is.

That’s the message veteran safety Kevin Byard III wanted to get across to his teammates this week. As the saying goes, the NFL is a results-oriented business — and the Bears are 0-2 and coming off a 52-21 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions. The results will be dissected endlessly, especially early in the season when the sample size is small.

“When you have a game like we did on Sunday, it feels like the sky is falling,” Byard said. “I just try to always remind the guys to not get too high or too low. We faced two really good teams to start this year. Sometimes these things happen.”

That may be the case, but the defensive performance Sunday was jarring, even against a high-powered Lions offense. The Bears allowed 50 points for the first time since 2014. No aspect of the defense was immune to mistakes. The Bears allowed 511 total yards and 334 yards through the air.

At one point Detroit scored on six consecutive possessions, with five of those resulting in touchdowns. The secondary struggled and the pass rush didn’t record a sack against Jared Goff.

The message for the Bears defense is pretty clear this week: There’s more work to be done. Coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen are hard at work trying to figure out how they can turn this around.

“When you don’t perform well and you lose a game like that, there’s a lot of issues that went on, and so there’s a lot of dirty hands in that,” Allen said Thursday. “We all accept responsibility, coaches and players alike. And we’re focused on trying to make the corrections and get ready for Dallas.”

The Lions’ 52-point outburst came a week after the Bears blew a 17-6 lead in the fourth quarter of a Week 1 loss to Minnesota. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy led the Vikings to three consecutive fourth-quarter touchdown drives.

Through two games the defense has just one takeaway. Its 24.5% QB pressure rate ranks 29th in the league, according to NFL Pro. Those are certainly causes for concern.

But the Bears defenders are trying to remind themselves there’s a long season ahead.

“You can’t write your narrative of the whole season two games in,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said.

“It’s still early in the year, so I’m not panicking,” Byard added. “I don’t think anybody else is panicking. We just have to find a way to get a win on Sunday.”

Johnson challenged his team to improve its practice habits this week. He had a rather polite way of putting it.

“I think our practice habits are yet to reflect a championship-caliber team,” he said.

The players did their best to answer the call when they returned to the practice field Wednesday for a two-hour practice on an unusually hot mid-September day. Byard described it as reminiscent of a training camp practice.

The team felt like it had another strong day Thursday as it prepares for another high-powered offense in the Dallas Cowboys.

Johnson’s message about practice was heard loud and clear by the players.

“He’s our head coach and he’s our leader,” defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. “If he said it wasn’t good enough, then we have to answer the call. I think we’ve put up two really good days (in practice) and we can’t wait to get out there this weekend.”

The Bears have been without injured linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon for much of the first two games. Johnson and Edwards both missed the Week 1 game before exiting early in Week 2 after aggravating injuries. Gordon has yet to play.

Johnson, nursing a groin injury, could be out for an extended period. Edwards and Gordon, who both have hamstring injuries, have yet to practice this week. It’s possible the Bears could be without all three again against Dallas.

“We all embrace the challenge,” Allen said. “There’s no question about it. When you have significant players that are missing time, it’s challenging.

“And yet, that’s why we do what we do and that’s why we’re at the highest level of this profession is to figure out solutions and figure out ways to get the job done.”

The Bears haven’t said what their plans are for Johnson, but the two-time Pro Bowl cornerback said during a radio appearance Monday that surgery is one option they’re weighing.

In addition to Edwards, Gordon and Johnson, cornerback Jaylon Jones (hamstring), offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie (elbow) and linebacker D’Marco Jackson (hamstring) sat out practice Thursday.

Running back D’Andre Swift (quadriceps) and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (knee) were limited participants. Wide receiver Jahdae Walker (ankle) was a full participant after being limited Wednesday.

The Bears have one more practice Friday before Sunday’s game.