Chicago Bears: Defense playing great, but must improve in fourth quarter

The Chicago Bears defense is one of the best in the NFL, but they’ve given up a lot of points in the fourth quarter, which needs to be remedied.

This has been a delightful, entertaining 2018 season for the Chicago Bears and their fans. They own a five-game winning streak and now own a record of 8-3. They find themselves atop the NFC North and the third seed in the NFC overall.

While the offensive surge the team has is surprising and welcomed, the defense has returned to its dominant ways. The Monsters of the Midway are back. The unit has 20 interceptions (they had 16 the last three seasons combined). They are sixth in the league in sacks with 34 through 11 games (they had 42 in 2017, 37 in 2016, and 35 in 2015).

After the national media took its time to recognize the Bears, they’re now getting the attention they deserve. Yes, the Chicago Bears defense is great. The unit is ferocious and fun to watch. It isn’t without its problems, though.

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The fourth quarter has been the defense’s Achilles heel this season. As well as it’s played in the first three quarters, something happens in the fourth. Yes, some of it is because they’ve had some wiggle room with the score. They could lay back and not be as aggressive and protect the lead. Some of it, however, really hurts the team.

In Week 1, the Bears owned a 20-0, third quarter lead. They gave up 24 straight points, including 21 in the fourth quarter. In Week 2, the Bears held the Seattle Seahawks to one 56-yard field goal through three quarters. The defense gave up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

After the bye week, the Bears faced the Miami Dolphins. They had a 21-13 lead entering the fourth quarter. They gave up 15 points to send the game into overtime, where they won with a game-winning field goal.

Against the Detroit Lions, the Bears held them to 10 points in three quarters. They gave up 12 in the fourth. Against the Minnesota Vikings, they held them to three points in three quarters. They went ahead and allowed 17 points in the final quarter.

For the season, the Bears allowed 211 total points. Of those points, 109 came in the fourth quarter. That comes around to about 52 percent of the total points. Imagine how much more dominant they’d be. Yes, I understand this may be nitpicking, but it could come back to haunt them in the playoffs. There are some high-flying offenses that’ll be in the playoffs. The Bears need to hold them late in the game so the offense as a chance to pull some upsets.

This is a team that can make some noise in the playoffs. They are peaking now and getting better each week. Once they get into the playoffs though, it’s a matter of getting the win by any means possible. One of those means is by holding their opponents down in the fourth quarter. If they can do that, expect some fireworks coming out of Chicago.