Chicago Bears 2022 season in review: Grading the defense

Chicago Bears 2022 grade: Defensive line

Like the offensive line, the Chicago Bears’ defensive line was a real disappointment. As mentioned before, there was no quarterback pressure. That really put a lot of pressure on the secondary.

Trevis Gipson and Robert Quinn started as the defensive ends. They were a huge disappointment. They combined for just 39 tackles and 4 sacks (the total that safety Brisker had by himself). In fact, the best thing to come out of having Quinn was acquiring a fourth-round pick in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Gipson was a big disappointment. After playing well in the absence of an injured Khalil Mack last season, many people expected him to continue his success as a starter. That certainly did not happen.

In the middle of the line, the Bears had Justin Jones, Armon Watts, Angelo Blackson, Mike Pennel, Andrew Brown, Dominique Robinson, and Al-Quadin Muhammad. None of them made much of an impact.

Robinson gives off the most hope in the unit. He is freakishly athletic because he was a converted wide receiver. He is still learning the defensive end position, but with the Quinn trade and the struggles of the other players, he got some valuable snaps. He is ahead of schedule in his development. Now he can take his experience and work in the offseason so he can be a key contributor going forward.

Poles has a lot of work to do on both lines. The bulk of his work will be there. The defensive line needs to put pressure on the quarterback and plug up the middle to shut down the running game. There will be a lot of moves made to fix this unit. Grade: F