Chicago Bears will lean on defense early in the season

The Chicago Bears must rely on their defense early.

We currently sit just over two weeks away from the Chicago Bears taking the field in Detroit to face the Lions in the first game of the season. When they do, it will be unlike any other game any of these players have ever played.

For starters, the stadium will be completely empty (ok so maybe not that different than their previous games in Detroit — I kid, I kid). They will also enter the game likely feeling ill-prepared. This is not because Matt Nagy and the rest of the coaching staff have not done enough to get them ready. It is simply because their preseason routine has looked nothing like it has in every other year of their career.

Not only was the preseason shortened, but there were no preseason games. Yes, it is true that the Bears haven’t taken advantage of the preseason games during Nagy’s tenure, but it was still a part of their routine that is now gone. And all signs pointed to the Bears playing their starters in the preseason this year.

As it is, even with the preseason, offenses typically struggle for the first couple of weeks as they find their groove and get into a rhythm. Without any preseason games at all, it could take even longer.

That means that defenses could carry the day for teams in the beginning of the year. That is great news for the Bears who have one of the league’s best. It’s also good news because their offense is — well — one of the worst. And to make matters worse, they may have a new quarterback under center if Nick Foles wins the competition, which could add to the length of the adjustment period.

But there may be no team better positioned to rely on their defense to carry them than the Bears. Frankly, the Bears have been relying on their defense for an eternity. More recently, they were the primary reason the team won 12 games in 2014, and the only reason they only lost eight in 2019.

So as the Bears get set to take on a Lions team they have handled recently, and an inferior New York Giants team in the first two weeks, perhaps the defense can carry them to 2-0.