Chicago Bears: 3 burning questions following loss to Dolphins

Just how good is this defense?

The Bears defense has been showered with superlatives so far this season. They have shredded opposing offensive lines and wreaked havoc on the other team’s quarterbacks. They came into the game with 18 sacks which was good for top-five in the league. The problem is they left South Beach with 18 sacks.

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Against a beat-up offensive line playing in front of a backup quarterback, the Bears recorded zero sacks and really failed to get pressure all game. This allowed Osweiler, Albert Wilson, and Frank Gore to carve up the defense. Failing to get pressure happens from time to time, but tackling should never take a game off, but that’s just what happened. When the game was on the line, they couldn’t wrap up Wilson who took a couple of short throws (which totaled four yards beyond the line of scrimmage) and burned them for two touchdowns in which he accumulated 114 yards after the catch.

One of the superlatives used to describe this unit has been “elite.” However, elite defenses do not get gashed by Brock Osweiler under any circumstances. Elite defenses also do not relinquish an 11-point lead in the second half. Is this defense good? Of course, they are. They are well above average in fact. But are they elite? Not at the moment.

Now maybe the heat got to them. It was hot and humid and they certainly looked gas in the second half. They also played fairly well in the first half, so there may be something to the effect the heat had on them. Moreover, it appeared Mack was banged up with an ankle injury, which clearly impacted their pass rush.

But here’s the thing — they were a top-ten defense last season. Even without Mack being the superhero he has been this year, the Bears defense should have adequately handled that offense. Have they become too reliant on Mack? Was Sunday’s game an aberration? Is this defense capable of carrying the team to the playoffs? We’ll begin to answer those questions starting next Sunday.