Chicago Bears: Robert Quinn will be key to defensive resurgence in 2021

Why will pass rusher Robert Quinn be the key to the Chicago Bears‘ defensive resurgence in 2021?

If there was one word to describe the Chicago Bears in 2020, it was disappointment. The Bears disappointed on offense, regressed on defense throughout the second half of the year, and never really seemed to get into any kind of rhythm which led to a tumultuous season.

However, if the biggest disappointment of them all was pass rusher Robert Quinn, who signed a five-year deal worth $70 million dollars during free agency in 2020. Quinn was signed for one main reason: To upgrade the Bears pass rush, teaming up with Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks.

Instead, Quinn did the opposite of that, sacking the quarterback just twice, have six quarterback hits, and 20 tackles. In other words, it was a season that Quinn failed to show up and produce, especially considering how much the Bears paid him. While we saw Quinn make somewhat of an impact towards the end of the 2020 season, his presence was never really felt on the field.

With the Bears set to have a new defensive coordinator in 2021, it’ll be important to maximize Quinn’s ability to rush the passer. However, first Quinn will need to get healthy. If he can participate in a full offseason, there’s no denying the fact that he can get back to his old ways, which saw him be a double-digit sack machine during the 2019 season with 11.5 sacks.

A healthy Quinn means that opposing offenses will need to decide between double-teaming Mack or Quinn on any given play. That would essentially allow for either one to have one-on-one matchups on any given play. For Chicago, this would lead to an increase in sack numbers.

Good defenses in the NFL are predicated on having a strong pass rush. Essentially, the more Mack and Quinn are able to get after the quarterback, the less time quarterbacks will have time to make throws. This can then lead to erratic decisions which the defense can take advantage of.

Getting Quinn going could also lead to an increase in turnovers for the Bears defense. Something that the unit struggled to do over the course of 2019 and 2020, Chicago will need its defense to produce turnovers, especially with uncertainty at the quarterback position and with the offense in general.

Overall, many expect the Bears defense to have a bounceback year in 2021. If this is going to be the case, then Quinn needs to get healthy and then produce at a high level if Chicago is going to get back to being an elite defense.