Ryan Poles made the move that pushed the Chicago Bears deeper into the Super Bowl conversation, landing Jeffery Simmons and giving Dennis Allen the kind of interior disruptor this defense has been missing.
That part is easy to understand. Simmons brings real juice up front, the kind of pass-rush presence that can wreck a pocket without forcing Chicago to overload the rush. For a team sitting at 5-2, it’s the sort of addition that naturally gets people talking about bigger things.
But there’s a much less glamorous issue hanging over all of it: the Bears keep giving up explosive plays.
And that problem could swallow the rest of the good news.
Chicago is allowing 8.7 yards per pass attempt, the worst figure in the NFL. Opposing quarterbacks have repeatedly found ways to attack the Bears downfield, turning ordinary snaps into massive gains. That’s a dangerous place to live for any defense, let alone one with championship ambitions.
The timing of this concern couldn’t be worse, because Monday night brings Seattle and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He has 867 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns through seven games, and he’s coming off a 150-yard outing against Kansas City. He’s also threatening to rewrite the NFL record books.
Now he gets a Chicago secondary that has had serious trouble limiting big plays.
Jaylon Johnson hasn’t been nearly as steady as the Bears need him to be. Quarterbacks have posted a 113.1 passer rating when targeting him this season, which is not the kind of number Chicago had in mind from its top cornerback. It’s even more troubling with Smith-Njigba on the other side, because Seattle brings arguably the most dangerous receiver in football into the matchup.
And this isn’t just about one corner. Chicago has had tackling issues, and communication breakdowns have opened the door for receivers to slip into space and turn routine catches into chunk plays.
Simmons won’t erase those issues by himself.
There is a reasonable case that a stronger pass rush makes everything behind it look better. If quarterbacks are forced to get the ball out faster, they have less time to hunt for deep shots. That’s the theory.
But theory only goes so far if the Bears can’t get home quickly enough, or if an offense leans on short throws and lets a receiver like Smith-Njigba do the rest. A missed tackle can turn a harmless catch into a 40-yard gain in a hurry, and adding another big-name defensive lineman doesn’t stop that from happening.
Chicago has already shown it can create pressure. Allen has been able to manufacture sacks with creative blitzes and disguised coverages even before Simmons arrived.
Stopping explosive plays has been the real issue.
The Bears have allowed a completion of at least 40 yards in 5 of their first 7 games, and that kind of habit becomes especially risky once January arrives and opponents get more ruthless with their chances.
That’s why the Super Bowl talk comes with an asterisk. Chicago doesn’t need to erase every elite receiver it faces.
That’s not realistic. But it can’t keep handing out huge gains and expect Caleb Williams to rescue the defense every week.
Poles deserves credit for recognizing the need to upgrade the front. Simmons could absolutely be the difference-maker they wanted.
Still, Monday night in Seattle may say more about Chicago’s true ceiling than any welcome-to-town moment ever could. If Smith-Njigba is still carving up the Bears’ secondary by the end of the night, Simmons’ debut won’t matter nearly as much as the problem Chicago still hasn’t solved.
In Other News...
Grady Jarrett Just Lost His Margin For Error In Chicago
Seven games into a 5-2 start, the Bears defense has given the team a sturdier foundation than it had a year ago, and the front has only gotten more attention with the arrival of Jeffery Simmons. For Grady Jarrett, that means the bar has moved. The veteran defensive tackle has still shown up in the middle with pressure and disruption, but his production has not matched the expectations that come with his name or his role in a line that is supposed to be driving games.
Jarrett does not need to become the headline every week, but he does need to be more than a complementary piece now that the Bears have doubled down on the interior. Simmons changes the conversation around the defensive line, and it changes the margin for everyone else on it, too. For Jarrett, the remaining weeks of the season are about proving he can make his presence felt in a way that fits the new standard in Chicago. [Read more 🡒]
These Bears Stat Lines Deserve Way More Attention Right Now
A few Bears stat lines are easy to miss if you are only scanning the box score, but they say plenty about how this season has unfolded. Kyle Monangai has been efficient on the ground even while working through injuries, Austin Booker has flashed as a pass rusher, Kalif Raymond has given the offense steady production in the passing game, and rookie safety Dillon Thieneman has shown up as a tackler on the back end. It is the kind of collection of numbers that suggests the roster has found some useful pieces even as the larger picture keeps shifting.
Rome Odunze is the most eye-catching name in the group because the yardage is there, the explosive plays are there, and the touchdowns are not. He has been one of the Bears' more productive receivers in terms of getting downfield and creating chunk gains, yet the scoring column remains empty, which keeps his season stuck in an odd in-between place. For a team still sorting out its offensive identity, that mix of promise and unfinished business is worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Williams Faces The Bears Test That Could Change Everything
Caleb Williams has given the Bears a jolt since returning from his hamstring injury, and the timing could hardly be better. Chicago has seen its offense perk up with help from Luther Burden, Colston Loveland and Rome Odunze, while Williams has settled back in by pushing the ball downfield and keeping the ball out of harms way against Atlanta and New England.
Seattle is a different kind of test, though, and one that will tell a lot about where this Bears passing game really stands. The Seahawks have made life miserable for opposing quarterbacks all season, and Chicago now has to find out whether Williams can keep this run going against a defense that has been especially tough through the air. [Read more 🡒]