After the dust settled on the Chicago Bears’ Week 1 win against the Carolina Panthers, three main takeaways emerged from the postgame discourse.
We can start with an offense that was potent, explosive, and unrelenting. It was unlike anything we’ve ever seen. The same goes for quarterback Caleb Williams. Save for Pro Football Focus’s galaxy-brained explanations, the football community graded QB1’s efforts highly after Week 1. The third takeaway was that Chicago’s defense needed a lot of work to avoid becoming the unit that held this team back from reaching its potential.
After watching the Bears give up 37 points and 478 yards in Week 1, I fully understand why our football brains go to a dark place when discussing the defense. However, what if I told you that there are silver linings in the dark clouds? Would you believe me? OK, I understand if you wouldn’t believe me. But would you at least hear me out?
Sep 13, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen looks on from the sideline in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn ImagesChicago Bears Defense: Silver Linings In An Otherwise Dark Cloud
I promised encouraging stats regarding the Bears’ defense, and now I am here to deliver:
According to Pro Football Reference’s data, the Bears collected 16 hurries in Week 1 vs. the Panthers. That number was the most in the league in Week 1. That stat stopped me in my tracks because there were moments when watching (and rewatching) the game that I felt like the defense was getting pressure but not getting home. But I chalked it up to a figment of my imagination. I’m glad that the data supports my initial conclusion. That said, I’ll need the Bears to turn those pressures into production. Also worth noting from PFR’s data: The Bears’ 37.2 percent Hurry% was the second-highest among NFL teams in Week 1. Only the Carolina Panthers (38.5%) had a higher percentage of quarterback hurries. In other words, Chicago wasn’t just racking up a high volume of hurries just because Carolina ran so many plays against them in the season opener. I don’t know if this stat is predictive, but I do find it encouraging. Let’s put a pin in that one for now. FOX Sports’ stats show a handful of Bears defensive linemen who registered enough hurries to land on the leaderboard after Week 1. Montez Sweat (4) trailed only Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby (5) in the hurries category. Dayo Odeyingbo (3 hurries) was among the five players with the third-most hurries. Meanwhile, Grady Jarrett and James Lynch (2 apiece) round out the Bears defenders who had 2+ hurries. I like that the Bears were well-represented here. But I wish they could get home with more sacks and quarterback hits.Earlier in the week, colleague Patrick Flowers wrote about rookies Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad being the best part of a bad day for the Bears defense. As it turns out, Chicago’s defensive line also had some encouraging moments. It makes me think that this defense might not be as bad as we feared coming into this season. But it is clearly a work in progress, and I can’t bring myself to expect immediate improvement from one week to another.
That said, I think we can root for incremental improvement. After all, you’ve gotta crawl before you walk. And you’ve gotta walk before you run. I guess what I’m saying is that I need the Bears to take some baby steps this week. They’ve got the players who can do it, but they need to do it.
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