Chicago Bears: 3 Takeaways from Week 1 vs Falcons

2. Bears defensive front played well. The secondary still needs some work

Going into the season, many felt the Bears front seven would be a strength. Well, they showed that those ideas were pretty good. As I mentioned, the Bears rushing defense was bad last season. They ranked 27th in rushing yards allowed and 25th in rushing touchdowns allowed. Against the Falcons, they performed very well against the run. That is a good sign.

Akiem Hicks and company found themselves in the backfield consistently. They got just two sacks (both of them by Hicks) but they pressured Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan all game long. He completed some big passes, but took some big hits in the process. All you can ask for from the front is to get pressure and they did that against Atlanta.

Leonard Floyd didn’t get a sack, but he recorded four tackles (one assist) and he defended a pass as well. His athleticism was on full display in the game.

While the front seven impressed, the secondary showed it still needs to improve. Cornerback Kyle Fuller didn’t give up big plays but there were some passes completed against him that he could have either gotten or stopped the receiver but allowed him to get more yards.

Fuller matched up with Julio Jones for most of the game. He got burned a bit in the first half, giving up three catches for 62 yards. It looked to be a long game, but the Falcons, for some strange reason, stayed away from Jones in the second half. They didn’t even target him once in the second half. They did use him as a decoy, though, and that worked for them.

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Once again, the Bears defense failed miserably on third down. Last season, opponents converted third downs into first downs or touchdowns 50 percent of the time. Against Atlanta, that number was 45 percent. Some of those conversions in the fourth quarter really hurt the Bears. Early in the fourth, on a drive that ultimately resulted in a field goal that gave the Falcons a 13-10 lead, Hicks was called for a roughing the passer penalty on third down that allowed the drive to continue.

Later on in the fourth, on a third-and-three, Ryan threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper. That made it 20-10. After the Bears responded with a touchdown, to make it 20-17, the Falcons converted a third down near the middle of the field. Instead of punting the ball away, Atlanta ended up with a field goal that forced the Bears to need a touchdown to win. That’s 13 points down the stretch of the game that prevented a Bears victory.

This is the Bears’ first regular season game with many new players on the roster. There were obviously some breakdowns that could be corrected as the players get more of a feel together. For example, on the 88-yard play, safety Quintin Demps went to help Fuller with Jones. He expected the other safety, Eddie Jackson, to provide help deep, but the rookie stayed down and ended up defending NO ONE.

The Bears secondary also had some chances at getting some interceptions that went through their hands. They tied for the fewest turnovers in NFL history last season and that needs to change for the Bears to get more wins.

The secondary didn’t do a bad job. There were just a couple of mistakes that ultimately cost them a victory. The fact that they didn’t look lost for most of the game is a positive. Some more snaps together and they could show even more improvement.