Even with a 7-2 record and a defense that looks nothing like last year’s version, the Bears still have a few loose ends to clean up on that side of the ball. Dennis Allen’s group has taken a big step forward, especially up front, but the bye week gives Chicago a chance to sharpen the details and push this unit from very good to truly dangerous.
The biggest decision starts at cornerback, where Malik Muhammad looks ready to take over as a full-time starter on the outside. He has missed the last two games with a toe injury, but he practiced on a limited basis last week and appears on track to return after the bye. That would be a timely boost for a secondary that still has some sorting out to do.
Tyrique Stevenson has been dealing with injuries over the last month and has had a rough season overall. He has allowed a 55.9% completion rate, a 129.5 passer rating, and four touchdowns.
Muhammad’s numbers are stronger: a 54.8% completion rate, a 79.9 passer rating, and one touchdown allowed, plus a sack and an interception in seven games. There’s at least a discussion about whether Muhammad should take Jaylon Johnson’s spot instead, but Johnson’s Week 9 performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - an interception and just one completion allowed on five targets - suggests he may have turned a corner.
That leaves Stevenson as the obvious odd man out. He’s in the final year of his rookie contract, while Muhammad was Chicago’s fourth-round pick this year, and the case for giving Muhammad the bigger role is hard to ignore.
The Bears also need to keep expanding Daniel Hardy’s role off the edge. He has built his reputation on special teams, but with Dayo Odeyingbo on IR and Montez Sweat serving a two-game suspension, Hardy climbed the depth chart and made the most of it.
In nine games, he has played only 80 defensive snaps, which is 16% of the total, yet he’s produced 15 tackles, nine pressures, five quarterback hits, four hurries, two sacks, one tackle for loss, and one pass deflection. Pro Football Focus has him at a 71 overall grade, with a 66.2 pass-rush grade and a 67.3 run-defense grade.
The Bears have started to use him more, but the numbers and the tape both point in the same direction: he deserves even more run.
And then there’s the bigger philosophical shift Allen needs to keep leaning into. He has never loved blitzing, preferring to send four and let the back end handle the rest.
But Chicago’s secondary has had too many issues, and the Bears are allowing explosive plays at the fourth-highest rate in the NFL, 6.8%. That has already nudged Allen toward a different approach over the last month, with more pressure coming from defensive backs like Dillon Thieneman, Kyler Gordon, and Malik Muhammad.
That adjustment has worked. Allen has mixed up the pressure looks well, and the defense has looked far more disruptive than it did a year ago.
He may not love blitzing, but the Bears should keep doing more of it. It fits what they’re dealing with right now, and it helps cover for a secondary that still needs support.
In Other News...
Bears May Have Found A Trade Bonus They Barely Can Use
The Bears trade for Clark Phillips III has quietly given them a useful defensive back at a time when the secondary has been under constant churn. Acquired from Atlanta in the deal that sent Gervon Dexter Sr. the other way, Phillips has flashed in the snaps hes gotten, holding up well in coverage and even showing some juice as a pass rusher when opportunities have come his way.
Phillips problem is less about performance than about timing. With Jaylon Johnson playing better and Malik Muhammad working back from injury, the path to regular snaps is getting crowded fast, which leaves Chicago with a good problem and a difficult one at the same time. The Bears may have landed a bonus piece in the trade, but figuring out how to use him could be the harder part. [Read more 🡒]
Bears Stadium Debate Just Took Another Turn Chicago Fans Will Feel
A new $10 billion redevelopment plan for the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Bronzeville has added another layer to the Bears stadium discussion, and it comes with a pitch aimed squarely at keeping the franchise in Chicago. The proposal calls for a new domed stadium as part of a sweeping project that would also include buying the Bears Arlington Heights property, a move designed to make staying in the city more appealing while the broader negotiations keep moving with NFL and state officials.
The catch is the scale of the ask. The plan would require demolishing six apartment buildings and a major construction effort, which underscores how complicated any return to Chicago would be. Even with that new option on the table, sources say Arlington Heights remains the Bears favored stadium location, leaving the latest proposal as another twist in a process that still has plenty of unresolved ground to cover. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Johnson Just Got A Huge Chance To Expose Detroit
The Lions quiet trade deadline left their defense looking a lot like the one Chicago has seen all season, with Andre Cisco the only notable new face and the cornerback room still largely intact. Detroit has kept winning anyway, but the numbers have not hidden a pass defense that remains vulnerable in several key areas, which gives Ben Johnson and the Bears a real opening in an NFC North matchup that carries extra weight for both sides.
For Chicago, this is more than just another divisional game. Johnson has had his share of frustration against NFC North opponents, but the Bears do have the kind of receiver talent that can stress Detroit in ways the Lions have not fully solved, and this is the sort of spot where a well-schemed offense can make a statement. If Chicago is going to show it can hang with the best in the division, putting pressure on that defense is the clearest path. [Read more 🡒]