The Chicago Bears are 4-3 on the season but they still have plenty to figure out before they become legitimate playoff contenders in the NFC. Ben Johnson’s first year has had plenty of ups and downs but one of the areas they are looking to improve is their pass rush.
The Bears have just 14 sacks on the year and the face of their struggles has been defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo. Underwhelming in the first year of a three-year, $48 million contract, Odeyingbo has become a dilemma for Chicago but Johnson noted there have been some positives and negatives coming out of the team’s Week 8 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
“Dayo has been really good as an interior rusher, and I thought he played a really strong game last week in the run game. It was his best game yet this season,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s press conference. “But on the edge, we’re still working on that.”
Ben Johnson Defends Bears Pass Rush but Challenges Dayo Odeyingbo to Deliver
Odeyingbo was a bet on upside during the Bears’ spending spree this offseason, coming off a career-high 42 pressures in 439 pass-rushing snaps in his final year with the Indianapolis Colts per PFF. The 26-year-old also had a career-high 16% pass-rush win rate last season, giving hope that he would continue to develop into a solid pass-rusher.
Instead, Odeyingbo has been a disappointment. He has just nine pressures in 183 pass-rushing snaps for a 4.9% pressure rate this season and it’s been a backbreaker for a team that is looking for anyone to line up alongside Sweat on the edge of Dennis Allen’s defense.
The Bears pass rush has struggled this season, though Johnson also commented that it may not be as bad as it seems. While Johnson admitted he would love to be leading the league in sacks, he said that getting pressure and affecting the quarterback is just as important.
“Not everyone agrees with this statement, but the hits and the pressures are equally important to me as sacks are,” Johnson explained. “I would love to be leading the league in sacks right now, but affecting the quarterback is really important for us and when I look at those true drop back situations, that’s what I'm looking at more than anything, is how much we are affecting the quarterback.”
Montez Sweat is an example of what Johnson is looking for on the edge with just three sacks but 23 pressures, which is tied for 31st among all edge rushers this season according to Pro Football Focus. Chicago’s pressure rate of 19% also ranks 20th according to Pro Football Reference, but in the case of Odeyingbo, he hasn’t been able to do either since coming aboard this season.
While Odeyingbo has performed well on the interior, the Bears desperately need him to produce on the edge going forward. With Austin Booker potentially returning from a knee injury soon, Odeyingbo would also need to prove his worth or risk being one-and-done in Chicago.
Whatever his future holds, Johnson has laid down his expectations for Odeyingbo moving forward and it’s upon him to reach that standard and make up for his slow start.