Tremaine Edmunds' Dominant Game Vs. Dallas Had A Dirty Little Secret

The Chicago Bears needed a strong performance from the defense if they were going to win. They got it. Despite struggling to stop the run, they only allowed 14 points and claimed four turnovers. Nobody had a bigger day than Tremaine Edmunds. The linebacker was everywhere, scooping up 15 tackles and picking off Dak Prescott twice. It was one of his best games since joining the Bears two years ago. Fans were left wondering where this guy had been. It turns out there may have been a secret behind the showing.

Everybody knows that Matt Eberflus was crucial to bringing Edmunds to Chicago in 2023. He viewed the uber-athletic linebacker as a Brian Urlacher-type with the size and athleticism to play the MIKE position, covering the deep middle. However, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen decided to shake things up. According to Adam Jahns of CHGO, the Bears shifted Edmunds over to the WILL position, or weakside linebacker and plugged Noah Sewell in the middle.

It worked beautifully.

Eberflus viewed Edmunds as his version of Brian Urlacher as the MIKE linebacker in his defense. But Edmunds’ best Urlacher-like game came in new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense at WILL linebacker. With T.J. Edwards injured, Noah Sewell took over at MIKE.

“(Edmunds is) not a selfish guy,” Smith said. “He’s gone from the MIKE linebacker to the WILL linebacker and hasn’t blinked an eye. He’s a little bit more suited for the WILL than Noah was off of the injury, and he’s never said I want to play the MIKE.

“In the offseason, we knew something would happen like this because you got to prepare your guys. He prepared the whole offseason at multiple positions. So did T.J. So they both had to learn both of them. Why is that good? Well, then they learn the whole system. Rather than if I just put you at one spot, you know one spot. If I put you at both, then you learn the whole system. So that’s the way they were trained, and right now it’s coming out and working well for us.”

This Tremaine Edmunds showing calls his usage into question.

While he may have always had the perfect body for middle linebacker, he didn't always display the same instincts. That is part of why the Buffalo Bills felt comfortable letting him go. Eberflus, who is supposed to be a linebacker expert, didn't see the potential. He just wanted Tremaine Edmunds for that specific job. Allen recognized the possibility right away. The unfortunate part is that Edmunds won't stay there much longer. T.J. Edwards will return after the bye week. He is the team's established WILL linebacker and is very good at it. Edmunds will shift back to the middle at that point. Still, it's nice to know the team can shift things around when needed, creating confusion for opposing offenses.