The Chicago Bears have seen an up-and-down season from defensive tackle Grady Jarrett; however, his performance has started picking up at the right time. What Jarrett does on the field has been steady, but it's what he does off the field that has made a serious impact in the Windy City.
Right after the Bears' playoff win over the Green Bay Packers, head coach Ben Johnson gave Jarrett some props for a pep talk he had in training camp regarding Super Bowl LI.
"He is wired the way we want our entire team wired," Johnson said. Joe Thuney, who was a member of the New England Patriots, is also a key member of the Bears. Johnson hoped that the perspective from both Jarrett and Thuney could help this team down the line, and that happened in the comeback win over the Packers.
Grady Jarrett's Impact on the Bears Runs Deep
In the victory over Green Bay, Chicago rallied from an 18-point deficit to advance to the Divisional Round. Despite being down, the Bears never wavered, and the speech that Jarrett gave during the summer is something that helped this unit when they were down.
And this wasn't the only speech Jarrett gave to this team. According to Dan Wiederer of The Athletic, back in September, Jarrett decided to say something to the team as they were 0-2 with the Dallas Cowboys coming into town for a pivotal Week 3 contest.
He stated, "My message that night was, ‘We’re all we’ve got. And we’re all we need. It was really just turning up the heat on the idea that no one is going to feel sorry for us. No one is coming to save us. We have to make the decision about how our season will go. It felt like a critical time to speak up."
And the Bears responded with a commanding 31-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys. That same momentum carried throughout the season, as Chicago finished with an 11-6 record. Fast forward to the postseason, and the Bears don't have the quitting mentality. No matter what the score is, Chicago believes in itself and will fight until the very end.
Jarrett is tied with Kevin Byard as the oldest player on the defense (32). He's using his experience and age to give this team a savvy vet. Not only is his presence and wisdom helping this team out, but Jarrett's play has taken a step forward. He's now recorded his best overall Pro Football Focus grades in back-to-back outings (79.6 and 79.2), and while PFF marks aren't definitive, the six pressures and five solo tackles he had in those outings do illustrate that his performance is on the rise.
The Clemson product is hitting his stride when it matters the most, and it's paying massive dividends for this Bears team. Only time will tell if Jarrett can do enough this weekend to bring Chicago one step closer to a Super Bowl appearance.