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NEW ORLEANS — On third-and-8 in the third quarter, new Chicago Bear Montez Sweat had his moment.
Well, almost.
He got up into Ryan Ramczyk’s chest off the snap, knocked the New Orleans Saints right tackle off balance just enough and gained the edge on his way to quarterback Derek Carr. Sweat used his length, strength and athleticism to reach his left arm out as Ramczyk tried to push him away from Carr.
Sweat got a hand on Carr’s arm. He affected the pass, which fell to the turf. For a moment, Bears defenders thought — or hoped — it was a fumble. Instead, it was incomplete, and the Saints had to settle for a field goal after an interception.
One day after signing a four-year contract worth $98 million, Sweat had little time for any congratulations. He wasn’t basking in his life-changing money.
He wanted a win. And he wanted that play, his only play on the quarterback, to have been bigger.
“It wasn’t enough,” Sweat said about getting to Carr. “I’ve got to get there more. I’ve got to get more production.”
In a 24-17 loss to the Saints, the defense actually played OK, especially after halftime. It’s rare for the offense to turn it over five times and be within a score. The defense played a major role in that.
But the Bears didn’t create any turnovers. The Bears had zero sacks and only two QB hits. The lack of splash plays has become too frequent over the past two seasons.
“Really the story of the day is just takeaways,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “It is hard to win (losing the ball). The league is pretty even in most spots. It’s hard to win when you have minus-5. Again, that’s a whole-team thing. It’s us protecting it, protecting the quarterback, getting it on defense and us doing a better job of taking the ball away on ‘D.’ That is really where the story was.”
Sweat, who also had a run stop for 2 yards, didn’t make enough of an impact in his Bears debut to get a win.
“(The contract) gives me another sense of security for me to go out there and (if) I get injured, I know I’m protected,” Sweat said. “But that’s not really what I’m worried about. I’m worried about getting dubs (victories), getting production.”
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General manager Ryan Poles called Sweat a multiplier. Sunday’s loss was a reminder that this defense needs a lot more of those.
The Bears could also use a little luck.
“We’re starting to feel like we’re unlucky,” rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said. “(Creating turnovers is) definitely something we pride ourselves on. Every drive we come out there and we want our hands on the ball.”
Bears defensive tackle Andrew Billings, who also signed an extension last week, commended the defense for stopping the run — Alvin Kamara had only 26 yards on nine carries — but said the lack of takeaways was the difference.
“For us (the D-line), if we put more pressure on the quarterback, they make more mistakes,” he said. “That’s how we can make that happen.”
That’s Sweat’s job. Maybe we couldn’t expect a ton for someone playing his first game with a team four days after joining. He’s still learning the playbook and gaining chemistry with his teammates up front. But while this defense limited the Saints to a 1-for-7 rate on third down in the second half, it didn’t get the big play.
The Saints did. They got five of them.
“What sticks with me? The turnovers. That’s the biggest thing,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “The defense, we want to try to get more. We want to try to get some, something. Overall, that’s just what it came down to.”
Safety Eddie Jackson noted how the Saints’ game plan featured a lot more quick passes than what they saw on tape. They did a better job covering up those passes in the second half, but it also limited opportunities to pick balls off.
Bears S Eddie Jackson said that on film, they saw a Saints team that threw it downfield. They expected more chances at INTs.
“We come here and it’s not as much of that.”
Check out Derek Carr’s @NextGenStats passing charts Weeks 6-9. Big difference this week in air yards pic.twitter.com/ltfGquIZNg
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) November 5, 2023
“Man it’s kind of hard when you’re not getting the ball thrown downfield as much,” Jackson said. “Just got to continue to punch at the ball, rip at the ball, tighter coverage. It’s tough when you look at the film of them playing in the previous weeks and they are airing it out, they’re throwing the ball deep. We come here and it’s not as much of that. It’s tough when the ball’s not going downfield, man. When it comes to tackling, first man in and second man has to punch the ball out. Just got to try to get the ball out more.”
Jackson pointed out that the Saints’ longest pass play of the game, a 31-yard reception, was a screen pass to Kamara.
The tackling was sound. Johnson had stops on the perimeter for 1 yard and no gain. Linebacker Jack Sanborn made several big-time stops. Linebacker T.J. Edwards was active with 15 tackles and one of the two QB hits. The defense had a fourth-and-1 stuff to help keep the offense in it.
But this has been a theme for the defense under Eberflus. Even when the hustle and tackling and run-stuffing are there, the splash plays are not.
The Bears have gone back-to-back games without a sack for the second time this season (Weeks 2-3 against the Bucs and Chiefs). They have eight games without a sack in 26 games under Eberflus — they did that seven times under Matt Nagy in 81 games and seven times under John Fox in 48 games, according to Stathead.
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This was the fourth time under Eberflus that the Bears had zero sacks and zero takeaways in the same game. That happened only twice under Nagy, four times under Fox and only five times in Lovie Smith’s nine seasons as head coach.
Since 2003, the Bears are 0-16 when they don’t record a sack or create a turnover. It’s quite the recipe for losing.
Since 2015, they’re 1-21 when they don’t sack the quarterback.
We can talk about Eberflus’ scheme, certainly. There might be two camps — those who say the defense is not effective enough and those who say the players aren’t effective enough. Here’s saying it’s a little bit of both.
Part of Poles’ roster overhaul meant moving on from many players he inherited on defense, either because of price or age and skill level. As he works to replenish it, the returns haven’t been there in a big way. Johnson had another strong performance, with the ball barely heading his way. He’s in that category. But who else? The free-agent adds at linebacker have been playing better since the first month of the season, but they’re still lacking in the takeaway and affecting-the-quarterback departments.
Second-round picks Stevenson and Gervon Dexter are going through rookie ups and downs. They’re supposed to be the future. Stevenson had to leave the game with a rolled ankle. Dexter didn’t make the stat sheet.
That’s where Sweat comes in. He has to be a playmaker, and he knows it.
“It’s security,” Sweat said of his new contract. “But I mean, it just also creates … more (motivation) for me to get it done.”
Defensive players see how Sweat can help them. Jackson called it a boost to the defense. The team that invested a premium draft pick and a lot of money into Sweat will want to see the production, too. He said after the game it didn’t matter whether he was close to getting to Carr.
“I don’t take any moral victories or anything like that,” he said. “The point is I didn’t get ’em done.”
That’s the type of player any team would want, someone who’s not satisfied by signing a massive contract with more guaranteed money than anyone on the team because he wanted a win. He wanted to make more plays.
It’s only one game, but we saw how much the Bears need Sweat to be a star, and how the defense still needs players who can change the game.
(Photo of the Saints’ Juwan Johnson and the Bears’ Kyler Gordon and Duron Harmon: Michael DeMocker / NFL LCC / Associated Press)
“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time is on sale now. Order it here.
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