Eddie Jackson Has Quietly Spearheaded Resurgent Bears Pass Defense

The Chicago Bears enter Week 18 with the 3rd-best pass defense in the NFL. This is something that should be remarkable to people. Remember they lost Kyle Fuller to free agency before the season began and then lost Khalil Mack to a season-ending foot injury after six games. Despite all of that, they've continued to give opposing quarterbacks problems. While Robert Quinn and Jaylon Johnson are big reasons why, somebody that deserves credit for this turnaround is Eddie Jackson. Over the course of the season, the veteran defensive back revealed that he and defensive coordinator Sean Desai had started making adjustments to how he's getting deployed in the secondary. Usually, he's been at his classic spot of free safety. However, due to a mix of necessity and desire, the Bears have begun using him much more often as their nickel cornerback.

This move has paid significant dividends.

In the past seven games that Jackson has played, opposing QBs have targeted him a total of 13 times. They've completed just five passes for 35 yards. That is good for a rough 46.63 passer rating. Only one quarterback has managed to top 200 yards passing against the Bears in the past two months. That was Aaron Rodgers. Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, and Russell Wilson all failed to accomplish the same. While Jackson isn't the only reason for that success, he is a big part of it. Remember this. In his last seven games, the 28-year old has played 180 total coverage snaps. Quarterbacks have targeted him just 13 times. So not only have they had little success throwing in his direction, they're basically avoiding him in general most of the time. That speaks to how effective his presence continues to be in their secondary.

Eddie Jackson isn't perfect but is finding ways to contribute

He hasn't had an interception since the end of the 2019 season. A drought that unquestionably continues to eat at him. That is likely why he pushed for getting more action at nickel cornerback. It was a way to get him more involved in the game, allowing him to become a greater presence. This has left quarterbacks with two choices. Either risk throwing in his direction or look elsewhere. The numbers show they've often chosen the latter. When something like this happens, throwing the football becomes a lot harder because it takes away a significant chunk of the field. One only wishes Eddie Jackson were more reliable as a tackler. He's missed eight tackles this season. A couple of them resulted in touchdowns. That said, he is still third on the team with 71 tackles for the season.

So he isn't shirking his duties in that department.

Everybody wants to see the Jackson of four years ago. The All-Pro star that had six interceptions and three defensive touchdowns in a single season. For whatever reason, that player hasn't appeared for two years now. While this version isn't as dominant, he is at least proving to be a capable player. Someone that gives the defense much-needed flexibility in the passing game.