The Heart of the Problem

Why the Bears Must Get Serious at Defensive Tackle

We’re only a couple of weeks into the regular season, and the one concern that has stood out above everything else for me is the defensive tackle position. For years, I’ve heard people preach “build from the inside out.” Usually that means prioritizing the trenches, but let’s go deeper — because if the center of your defensive line is getting bullied, you’re not winning football games.

Right now, that’s the story of the Bears.

Where the Bears Stand

Through the first two games, the numbers are ugly:

• Pressure rate: 28th in the NFL (≈20.8%)
• Pass rush win rate: 29th (≈23.1%)
• Sacks: Just three, with nine QB hits total

Even our “big” acquisition, Grady Jarrett, is struggling. He’s winning only about 12% of his pass rush snaps — ranking 44th out of 133 qualifying rushers. Montez Sweat, our top pass rusher, hasn’t looked like the game-wrecker we need him to be either. And without consistent disruption up front, the rest of the defense bends and eventually breaks.

This is the definition of a bend-don’t-break defense — fine if your offense can march down the field all game long. But let’s be honest: when have the Bears ever consistently done that in the modern Super Bowl era?

What Champions Do Differently

Look at the last five Super Bowl champions. There’s a clear pattern:

• Top-10 pressure rates — not just off the edge, but up the middle
• Strong run defenses — limiting chunk gains inside, forcing 2nd-and-long and 3rd-and-long situations
• Rotation and depth — so star tackles don’t gas out late in games
• Consistency all year long — from September to February, their interior line was the backbone of their team

The Eagles in 2024 are a perfect example. Their defensive front collapsed pockets, stuffed runs, and created short fields for the offense. That’s the kind of unit that wins championships.

The Bears? We’re nowhere close.

The Bigger Picture

This is why the Grady Jarrett acquisition left me puzzled. On its own, it doesn’t make sense — unless you pair him with a young stud at DT, someone like Mason Graham, who I thought was the move in the draft. Instead, we waited, and by the time we took Shemar Turner, seven defensive tackles were already gone. That’s not a win-now move; that’s a hope-for-later move.

But the truth is simple: if this franchise wants to turn things around, the real work must start at defensive tackle. That’s the difference between a defense that bends and breaks, and a defense that dominates. That’s the difference between being “offseason champions” and being actual champions.

Until the Bears fix the heart of their defensive line, we’re just fooling ourselves.