Chicago Bears: 3 Bold predictions for Week 6 vs. Panthers

2. Chicago Bears defense dominates again

Linebacker Khalil Mack said before the game against Tampa that the defense was close to coming up with big plays, via the Chicago Sun-Times:

"There’s gonna be a spot where we can make that play. And it’s gonna be huge. And it’s gonna be more than one play. Just waiting on that break. And it’s gonna happen."

Well, it happened against the Bucs. The Chicago Bears defense had its best game of the season. The unit dominated the line of scrimmage and harassed Tom Brady all game long. You could see the frustration oozing out of him as he kept getting knocked down. He was so discombobulated that he didn’t know it was fourth down on the Bucs’ final play.

The Bears pressured Brady on 43.2 percent of his dropbacks. That was the most on him since 2017. Mack and Robert Quinn were the main culprits. Mack had two sacks and 6 pressures while Quinn had 5 pressures.

Mack and Quinn are starting to be an incredible pass rush tandem. Quinn might not have the sack numbers but he is getting pressure on the quarterback and has a forced fumble. Mack has thrived with Quinn doing his job. Throw in defensive end Akiem Hicks and opposing quarterbacks will suffer this season.

Don’t forget about the Bears secondary. Teams are starting to figure out that they shouldn’t throw towards Eddie Jackson’s way. He has a tendency to find the ball and take it away from the ball carrier’s hands. Jackson noted that Brady failed to even throw any ball in his direction.

Let’s talk about the outside cornerbacks, Kyle Fuller and Jaylon Johnson, as well.

Fuller is playing like the All-Pro cornerback he’s been. Jaylon Johnson is playing like an All-Pro despite being a rookie. Among cornerbacks targeted 30 or more times, opposing quarterbacks completed just 42.9 percent of their passes against Fuller, tops in the league. Second on that list? None other than Johnson at 44.7 percent. Additionally, the two combined for 12 passes defended (Johnson’s 7 leads all rookies).

So, to sum up, the Bears’ pass rush puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback. When the quarterback throws a pass, the secondary is there to break up the pass.

The Panthers offense ranks 20th in points scored and 27th in red-zone percentage. If the Bears defense continues to play as tough as it has the last couple of weeks it could be a long day for Teddy Bridgewater and the Carolina Panthers.

Prediction: The Bears defense records 3 sacks, force a fumble and intercept a pass.