There’s not much left for the Bears’ defense to do after allowing 504 yards in a 41-10 loss to the Lions on Sunday at Ford Field. They’re last in the league in points allowed, 31st in yards per play, 29th in rushing yards per attempt and 32nd and last in passing yards per attempt.
One final game isn’t going to change any of that. They’ll be almost literally playing for pride in the season finale against the Vikings on Sunday at Soldier Field, because many of them are unlikely to return for 2023. Rookie cornerback Kyler Gordon and rookie safety Jaquan Brisker are locked in as foundation pieces. But after them, nobody else who was on the field is a sure thing for next season — at least in a primary role.
They were playing for pride Sunday and look what happened. But NFL players always have something to play for, so even after the bottom seemed to drop out against the Lions, they’ll be motivated to finish strong against the Vikings — if for any reason but to atone for an embarrassing performance Sunday.
“We’re the Monsters of the Midway — 500 yards is not what we stand by,” defensive end Trevis Gipson said. “We’re going to get back in the lab and work on what we need to work on. Fix what we need to fix.
“But the performance that we had [against the Lions], that wasn’t us. Far from us. We’re not gonna give up. We’re going to keep working and next week, we’re gonna try to keep it at five [yards] — not 500. We’re not gonna let the past few weeks roll over.”
Linebacker Nick Morrow doesn’t know what the future holds for him — he’s on a one-year contract. But that gives him plenty to play for.
“If you’re a man who wants to finish and compete, you’ll compete. If not, you’ll lay down,” Morrow said. “I think everyone stepped up and competed as best they could [against the Lions]. Obviously it didn’t go our way. But that’s football.
“I think every man has look themselves in the eye and decide how they want to finish the season. “I’m not gonna change my process. I’ll come in and do the same thing — look at tape, look at ways to improve and attack [this] week. That’s all I can do.”
Bears coach Matt Eberflus likes the effort but not the results. There’s just not much he can do about it at this point.
“We’ve got to do a good job of being in our gaps in the run game,” Eberflus said after the Lions rushed for 265 yards on 39 carries (6.8 average) and two touchdowns Sunday. “In-game we’ve got to do a good job of pressuring the quarterback, staying in our coverage. If it’s match coverage or zone coverage, we’ve got to do a better job there.”
But after a season of instilling the H.I.T.S. principle, the techniques and responsibilities of playing in this defense, shouldn’t the results be better, even considering injuries and other departures this season?
“Obviously when you’re a coach, you’re always looking at execution,” Eberflus said in response. “So I’ll just go back to that. We’re looking at execution, seeing if we’re putting players in the right positions and seeing if we’re executing our technique.”
It’s not for lack of effort.
“I don’t see that,” Eberflus said. “We count loafs for every single play. We’ve always done that, and we’ll continue to do that. I don’t see that. It’s more about guys being where they’re supposed to be.”