Soak it in. The Bears’ offense is what everyone has been asking for since Rex Grossman laid a 2006-sized egg. A modern offense capable of scoring at any time and in any manner.
And yet, this roster does not look ready to compete for a championship. Why? The defense remains flawed. While there were still some standout performances, namely from rookies Dillon Thieneman and Malik Muhammad, the defensive line and defensive backfield have major holes.
Do the Bears need to make a trade and add to their defense?
I’m 95% there.
There are only a few remaining reasons
to be optimistic that the Bears defense can still improve.
First, they are still missing some key players in Kyler Gordon and Coby Bryant. However, the severity of Bryant’s injury and lack of clarity around Gordon means that you can’t necessarily count on either of them. If (very big if) Gordon can return and make the impact he is capable of, that could help lock up the middle of the field and push someone like Muhammad outside where he might be more comfortable. If (another big if) Bryant can return 3/4 of the way through the season, he can bring some range and playmaking to the back end. Hard to rely on either of those realities, but neither are impossible.
Another reason for tepid optimism is the early returns on the young players. Both Thieneman and Muhammad had standout performances. Still, there were things that need cleaning up, particularly Muhammad’s coverage in the slot. He was beaten a few times on quick crossers — proof that he still needs time to get better at this new position. Add in preseason stars Jordan van den Berg and Jayden Loving, and there is still potential for some real growth along the defensive front.
My final plea for patience is simply that the Bears defense was put in a few bad situations, giving the Panthers short fields. The Panthers had drives start at the Bears 42, Panthers 40, Bears 21, and Panthers 42. This is unsustainable for any defense — and a sticking point I am sure Head Coach Ben Johnson will make during the upcoming week.
Still, the Bears surrendered 24 first downs, 478 total yards, 7.7 yards per play, and four touchdowns on four trips to the red zone. This defense has a lot of issues that need to be addressed.
So what needs the most attention? I think two things come to mind.
The Bears still need an EDGE to complement Montez Sweat. Dayo Odeyingbo looked slightly better yesterday, but made mistakes and still lacked necessary impact. Austin Booker was remarkably absent during the game yesterday. Any optimism that he could be the game wrecker on the DL was put into question after his performance. So at a minimum, the Bears need a DE2 opposite Sweat to help generate pressure from the opposite side. Ideally, the Bears can secure an EDGE that can be a primary pass rusher and shift Sweat to DE2. A Kayvon Thibodeaux could be a more affordable option.
Shifting focus to the defensive backfield, and what was previously viewed as a team strength looks like a defensive weakness after Week 1. Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson were both burned on several instances, leading to chunk plays by players like Jalen Coker, Darren Waller, and Tetairoa McMillan. While the DL needs to put pressure on QBs sooner, both Johnson and Stevenson appeared to have a difficult time keeping up in man coverage. Given the importance of Johnson in particular, this should be sounding alarms across the Bears organization. He hasn’t looked quite right since his groin and core injuries early in the 2025 season.
While the addition of Kyler Gordon or a quick return of Coby Bryant could help cover the issues on the outside CBs, I am walking away deeply concerned with the issues at starting CB. If the Bears are going to take a swing, I am more inclined to do so on an impact CB. A guy like Joey Porter Jr. could push Jaylon Johnson to CB2 and give him better matchups. I think this type of addition could go a long way in improving the pass defense for the Bears.
The Bears already have a ton of resources wrapped up in the defense, but given the initial returns on offense, Ryan Poles should pull out all of the stops to ensure that the defense can contribute to a legitimate championship run.
