The Chicago Bears extended their winning streak to four games with a huge victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Head coach Ben Johnson is clearly the right man for the job, as the Bears clearly believe in his message and the results are showing up in the standings.
Even if Johnson's team is clearly riding some positive momentum, that doesn't mean Chicago is a perfect team. The Bears' defensive tackles struggled against the Saints' frontline throughout the contest, as Andrew Billings, Jonathan Ford, and Shemar Turner only generated one pressure between them, according to Pro Football Focus.
Although Gervon Dexter finished with a respectable three pressures, Sunday's performance highlighted the unfortunate truth that the Bears need Grady Jarrett, who missed Week 7 with a lingering knee injury, more than they thought.
Week 7 Proved Bears Desperately Need Grady Jarrett
Jarrett has been a non-factor this season because of injuries. Even so, the Bears have a big need at defensive tackle, and choosers can't be beggars. All tackles other than Dexter have been bad this season, and the win over the Saints wasn't the exception. The Bears only got one pressure from all other tackles, and Andrew Billings and Chris Williams haven't given Dennis Allen's defense any sort of production now.
Chicago signed the former Atlanta Falcons star to a three-year deal worth $43.5 million contract, which was a bit risky given his age. So far, Jarrett only been able to play in three games, logging four total tackles, and one quarterback hit. He hasn't been as efficient against the run, either, which used to be his best trait.
Still, context matters, and he's just getting settled in on a new defense, so chances are he just needed more playing time before getting back to his usual ways. And even if that wasn't the case, his PFF grades for the first two games of the season (60.2 and 69.1) were higher than Billings has been all year long (58.0). Jarrett's 55.7 overall grade on the season is also better than what Billings (54.8), Williams (53.0), and Turner (29.7) did this weekend.
Hopefully, some extra practice reps help catch Jarrett up to speed, so that he can get back to making a positive impact in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's unit. Considering how close he was to playing on Sunday, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, perhaps Week 8 will finally be time for a return.
As much as the Bears may have overpaid for an aging defensive tackle, there's nothing they can do about that now. Jarrett doubters will have to learn to deal with his being on the roster, given that a 2026 release would bring on $21 million in dead cap, per Spotrac.
As such, the Bears might as well make the most of the investment by getting Jarrett on the field, especially since Chicago's defense is better with him than without.