CHICAGO – Throughout the offseason much of the talk has been about the drastic changes on the Bears offense, but during Saturday’s game indicated that the defense might stick with some changes they made halfway through the 2023 season, then ditched. The team dialed up a handful of blitzes with their nickel corners against the Bengals, and those blitzes led to a lot of success.
“For him to open up the playbook for us is almost like a compliment,” said Josh Blackwell. “He can trust us well enough to make the play when it’s there.”
Blackwell created one of the two Bears interceptions with a well-timed blitz in the second quarter. Blackwell hit Bengals QB Logan Woodside right as he threw, the ball fluttered in the air and Amen Ogbongbemiga was able to settle under it for the catcher
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Kyler Gordon was the first man to make a big play with a nickel blitz, when he lit up Woodside for a big sack in the first quarter. He said that plays like that can change the game, not just because of the big loss of yards or the change in possession. They can change the complexion of a game for a QB.
“You get pressure on him, you get a hit, then he doesn’t want to get hit no more,” Gordon said. “So he’ll start looking around and being more aware of that.”
Gordon’s point was perfectly illustrated later in the third quarter. Reddy Steward (along with linebacker Micah Baskerville) was the man coming on the nickel blitz this time. Steward didn’t get home, but sped up the quarterback’s clock. That led to a throw which Terell Smith was able to undercut for an interception.
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Head coach Matt Eberflus downplayed any perceived uptick in blitzing after the game, and pointed to Ronde Barber’s prowess as a blitzer in the nominal Buccaneers’ Tampa 2 system. Barber had 28 sacks in 241 career games for the Bucs, ranks as the No. 1 sack leader for cornerbacks in NFL history, and his pass rush skillset played a role in his Hall of Fame election.
But in his two years with the Bears, Eberflus’s defenses didn’t blitz much. In 2022, they blitzed 18.2% of the time– the eighth lowest rate in the NFL. Last year, he picked up the pace a bit with a 22.2% blitz rate, which tied for 11th-lowest in the NFL. Gordon was second on the team with 35 blitzes, behind T.J. Edwards, who was called to bring extra pressure 68 times.
That uptick can be explained by the Bears’ struggles to get home with their four defensive linemen, however. To start the year, the Bears ranked among the bottom of the league in blitz rate. When it became clear they weren’t generating enough pressure, he dialed up extra heat. Then when Montez Sweat arrived and the pass rush improved, the blitz rate declined again in the last few weeks of the season.
Gordon credits the new wrinkle to Eberflus’ growth as a coach, just like a player grows and adds tools to his repertoire as he goes from rookie, to sophomore, to vet.
“He’s going to get comfortable with what he does, then add, spice it up and get better,” said Gordon.
Jaylon Johnson believes improvements on the roster have opened up the playbook.
“Kyler was young, and a lot of those guys who are playing and making big time plays for us now were young,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it was just a system change, I think it was more so knowing your personnel a bit, kind of trying to ease guys in a certain way. At the end of the day, it’s something that we’ve progressed to and we’ve earned that right to make certain plays, to get certain calls.”
Eberflus echoed Johnson’s praise for Gordon’s development now that he’s in year three.
“We feel really good about what Kyler can bring. He has a really wide range set in terms of his skills. He’s good at man, he’s good at zone and all the things that we do in that way, and he’s good at pressure. We like sending him and he’s good at it.”
In Blackwell’s case, he’s healthy again after missing all three preseason games and six regular season games due to injury in 2023.
“Finally I can show what I can do,” Blackwell said.
With extra responsibility comes extra expectations, however. Blackwell shared the simple thought that goes through his head when his number’s called.
“Better make the play.”
Gordon says he tries to stay calm when the coaches dial up a blitz for him.
“You don’t want to give nothing away too early, so just keeping your poise and setting yourself up right.”
In the preseason the coaches don’t gameplan too much specifically for their opponents. They don’t show all the new wrinkles of their schemes, either. The defense will look different on a week-to-week basis, based on who they’re playing, so the blitz rate is sure to fluctuate, too.
Based on the success the defense had on Saturday, though, Gordon could be called upon to generate pressure more in 2024.