{"id":96055,"date":"2020-10-10T08:35:23","date_gmt":"2020-10-10T12:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=96055"},"modified":"2020-10-10T01:59:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-10T05:59:55","slug":"pressure-key-for-chicago-bears-thursday-and-going-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/10\/10\/pressure-key-for-chicago-bears-thursday-and-going-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Pressure Key for Chicago Bears Thursday and Going Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago Bears<\/a> got a big win on the national stage by getting pressure on Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady<\/a><\/strong>. They also put a little on their critics who had (and may still have) very reasonable questions about this Bears team, particularly on offense. It was nice to see the defense finally get to the quarterback with regularity, too. What does it mean for the Bears going forward?<\/p>\n

Pressure Key to Big Win in Primetime for Bears<\/h2>\n

Bears Defense Applies Pressure<\/h3>\n

Khalil Mack<\/a><\/strong> has had a deceptively dominant season. Most will key on him having just 1.5 sacks entering Week 5 but don\u2019t miss the forest for the trees. Mack is sixth in ESPN<\/a>‘s Pass Rush Win Rate and first in Run Stop Win Rate among EDGE defenders. Brady came in enjoying some of the best protection he\u2019s gotten in recent years but Mack got to him two times himself and was around plenty more times while shutting down the run. He also showed a little brute strength<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mack came in determined to be better than last season and he has. But we can\u2019t ignore the impact his teammates have had on him this season. Akiem Hicks<\/a><\/strong>, who is tied with Mack for the team-lead in pressures with 11, being healthy again has been huge. Robert Quinn<\/a><\/strong> hasn\u2019t been a full-time player just yet; much to the chagrin of fans trying to square that with his contract. He posted the best Pass Rush Win Rate over the last two seasons but has been limited him to just 37% of the defensive snaps, though he played a season-high on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Chicago is allowing a league-low 57.4 percent of passes thrown to be completed. Kyle Fuller<\/a><\/strong> and rookie Jaylon Johnson<\/a><\/strong> have both given up their fair share of big plays. The Bears have given up the fifth-most passing plays of 20+ yards, but Fuller and Johnson are playing solid on a play-to-play basis. Eddie Jackson<\/a><\/strong> has been close on a few plays but has come up short on big plays so far, while Tashaun Gipson<\/a><\/strong> has a pick. Both are allowing career-worst completion percentages. Still, the coverage on the outside has been stellar so far.<\/p>\n

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Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn led a Bears defense that pressured Tom Brady on 43.2% of his dropbacks, his highest rate in a game since 2017.<\/p>\n

Khalil Mack
\u27a4 6 pressures, 2 sacks on 34 pass rushes (17.6%)<\/p>\n

Robert Quinn
\u27a4 5 pressures on 28 pass rushes (17.9%)#TBvsCHI<\/a> | #DaBears<\/a><\/p>\n

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 9, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n