The Chicago Bears defense was never good this year. People understood that. It had serious flaws, particularly up front with their inability to rush the passer or stop the run consistently. Still, they've managed to make it work thanks to a knack for forcing turnovers and bowing up in the red zone. In fact, until recently, the unit appeared to be at least moving in a positive direction. In a five-week span between November 16th and December 14th, the defense allowed an average of 18.2 points per game and never more than 350 total yards. That changed the past two weeks, and one insider believes the reason centers on Montez Sweat.
Green Bay put up 395 yards in the rematch at Soldier Field. Only a stellar red zone performance prevented more than 16 points. San Francisco had no such issues. They had 496 yards and 42 points. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune knows one player didn't create that, but he feels there might be something going on with Sweat. His playing time has dipped in the past couple of weeks, leading the insider to think he might be dealing with an undisclosed injury.
While defensive end Montez Sweat has not been on the injury report of late, I suspect he’s dealing with something. No one has shared any information with me; it’s just a hunch I have. Sweat was on the field for 45 snaps (62.5%) at San Francisco and 49 (68.1%) the week before against Green Bay, and that’s below his typical rate. Generally he plays a little more than 75% of the snaps. Considering both games were very close, I’m of the mind that he’s dealing with some kind of ailment that has led the coaching staff to closely monitor his playing time.
Montez Sweat is the only viable difference-maker the Bears have.
There have been four games this season where the defensive end has had at least one sack and two quarterback hits. The Bears are 4-0 in those games and allowed 20 points or fewer in three of them. Conversely, things get pretty bad for them when his snaps dip below 70%. Two of them were the San Francisco game and the first game in Detroit, where the Lions hung 52 points on the Bears. The Tez Factor still appears to be very real for Chicago. When he's healthy and having a consistent impact, the defense is fine.
This revelation from Biggs is not ideal. Whatever injury Montez Sweat may be dealing with could linger into the playoffs. Most of the offenses the Bears could face there are well-coached and talented. Asking the defense to get stops without a healthy Sweat is begging for trouble. This is why everybody knows the pass rush will be the focal point of their offseason efforts next spring. Austin Booker has commendably tried to step up in recent weeks, but it's not enough. They need Sweat at his best, and he's not there right now.
