The Chicago Bears have been a pleasant surprise this season, but they still have many areas that need to be shored up if they want to earn their first playoff appearance since 2020. The biggest may be their pass rush, which had another tough day against the Green Bay Packers.
The Bears pressured Jordan Love 10 times and earned one sack on 26 dropbacks in their 28-21 loss to and it was the continuation of a trend that has existed all season. Chicago entered Sunday’s game tied for 25th in the NFL with 23 sacks on the year and while the failed free agent acquisition of Dayo Odeyingbo and a season-ending injury to Shamar Turner have contributed to the problem, it also has been due in part to acquisition of Joe Tryon-Shoyinka.
Coming with low expectations from the Cleveland Browns at the trade deadline, Tryon-Shoyinka has managed to lower his own bar since coming to Chicago. Sunday’s lackluster performance against the Packers was another chapter in his disappointing tenure and could have him on thin ice as Chicago tries to complete its playoff push.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka Is Exposing Bears’ Depth Issues Along Defensive Line
Tyron-Shoinka suited up for the Bears on Sunday but you had to be paying attention to notice. According to Pro Football Focus, he played just 18 total snaps in the loss and didn’t record a quarterback pressure on his nine pass rushing snaps.
This has been a theme over the past several weeks as Tryon-Shoyinka has posted just two pressures on 39 pass-rushing snaps and played just 77 defensive snaps since coming over from Cleveland. Of course, this should have been expected as he was seldom-used by the Browns with 31 defensive snaps but the Bears may have thought they could get more after he posted three pressures on 14 pass-rushing snaps in his eight games before the trade.
Even if there wasn’t much expected, the Bears needed Tryon-Shoyinka to produce. Montez Sweat has continued to be the driving force behind Chicago’s pass rush with four pressures and a sack against the Packers and Austin Booker has been a surprise in his second season, adding two pressures in Week 14. Even maligned defensive tackle Grady Jarrett got involved with three pressures but it’s becoming the Bears have little depth behind their starters, which is an area Tryon-Shoyinka was supposed to improve.
At this point, Tryon-Shoyinka is adding nothing to the defense and Chicago could be waiting for Dominique Robinson to return from a concussion. Until then, Chicago needs something on their trade deadline investment, but it looks like he’s disappearing when the Bears need him the most.