Bears defense has something good happening and it showed vs. Vikings
MINNEAPOLIS — Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker planned his celebration before the game Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings .
If Brisker got a takeaway, he would mimic the Skol clap that Vikings fans do to the beat of their team’s giant, 1,800-pound drum before and during the game.
“I like to make people mad,” Brisker said, laughing. “So let me Skol clap for them.”
Brisker got to do just that in the second quarter of the Bears’ 12-10 win against the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on “Monday Night Football.” He intercepted a pass from quarterback Josh Dobbs that went off the hands of receiver Jordan Addison over the middle. It was the second of four interceptions made by the Bears defense.
“Defense creates momentum in a lot of different ways,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “They do it through third-down stops. They do it through big hits. And they do it through taking the ball away. That’s what we always preach to the guys. And they did all three things today.”
It helped to play a Vikings offense that was missing quarterback Kirk Cousins and superstar receiver Justin Jefferson . But what the Bears defense did still felt meaningful. There was no magic from Dobbs on this night. His fairytale story ran into a nasty villain in prime time.
The Bears defense dominated — and had to keep dominating because the offense mustered only 3 points off those four takeaways. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson , linebacker T.J. Edwards and nickelback Kyler Gordon also grabbed interceptions. Johnson nearly had another pick six, but he dropped the ball again.
“I ain’t gonna lie; I don’t know what’s going on with my hands,” Johnson said. “I used to think I had pretty good hands. But, hey, I’ve got to figure some things out.”
Johnson was able to laugh about it afterward. He described that missed play in detail. He’s reading everything well. He tipped the pass that Edwards intercepted, too. Johnson’s interception early in the second quarter was an example of how well he’s playing.
“We were in zone (coverage),” Johnson said. “The quarterback looked flat, so I drove initially on the first route and then he pumped. So then I put a foot in the ground, got back underneath it and he gave me a chance.”
He made the interception. After Johnson’s return, Gordon was penalized for taking off his helmet, which he did because the facemask had come off. The officials then said he was taunting.
“You saw me hold it up in the sky,” Gordon said. “It is what it is. I’m not even tripping, to be honest.”
Gordon can say that because the Bears defense kept bouncing back. They were resilient. That was a message from the locker room.
Quarterback Justin Fields fumbled twice in the fourth quarter. Unlike the Bears offense, the Vikings capitalized on the first fumble, which was a sack and strip by defensive end Danielle Hunter . Dobbs hit T.J. Hockenson for a 17-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession for a 10-9 lead with 5:54 remaining.
Fields fumbled again on a scramble during the Bears’ next possession. But the defense responded this time. It forced a three-and-out to set the stage for Fields and his game-winning drive.
“We want to be the ones that close the games out and be clutch,” Gordon said. “We like it. No points. And that’s what we wanted to do, and I think we put on a good performance tonight.”
It was a good performance that also was a continuation of a strong showing in Detroit before a letdown in the final three minutes. The Bears have eight takeaways in their last two games. They have the best run defense in the league. And with defensive end Montez Sweat getting 1 1/2 sacks against the Vikings, a pass rush also appears to be emerging.
Something good is happening on defense.
The players can feel it.
“Challenging. Aggressive. Pressure,” Johnson said. “I mean, we’re just playing good coverage on the back end. The rush is getting there, causing the quarterback to make some bad decisions.”
When Dobbs did complete passes, the Bears made plays that rarely show up on highlight reels but are ones that coaches surely point out during film review. Eberflus already was doing it after the game.
On the Vikings’ opening possession of the third quarter, Gordon forced Hockenson out of bounds for a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-7. On Minnesota’s next drive, Edwards tackled running back Ty Chandler in the open field for only a 3-yard gain on third-and-6. Edwards then made his interception when the Vikings went for it on fourth down.
When plays like that add up, a defense can win games. The Bears defense is starting to deliver more of them.
“That was my guy (Chandler) on that play,” Edwards said. “They were kind of getting us in empty and trying to read what coverage we were in all night. But as soon as I saw him take off, I knew that he was the primary on that. And I had to get on my horse.
“Again, that’s just one of those things we talk about is just hustling to the ball and good things will happen.”
In case you missed that, Edwards repeated a message from Eberflus right there. The buy-in on defense remains. You can see it on the field. And you could hear it from the players afterward.
“It’s really just trusting each other, trusting the process,” said Brisker, who shared a sack with Sweat. “Especially in practice, (it’s) just working on turnovers, trusting what coach Flus is saying, trusting each other, and everybody being hungry for the ball. That’s been the difference — and no one having their head down. Everybody just keep going.”
And on Monday night, that meant some Skol clapping.
(Photo of Kyler Gordon and Montez Sweat celebrating Gordon’s interception: Brad Rempel / USA Today)
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