Bears defense the reason Chicago should be optimistic heading into 2020

When grasping for any sort of optimism, the Bears should feel optimistic about their defense heading into 2020.

Contrary to last season, there’s not much optimism facing the Chicago Bears as they head into an important offseason. There certainly won’t be an offseason filled with lofty Super Bowl expectations that will ultimately fall short.

Instead, the Bears are left to fix what went wrong in a disappointing 2019 season, especially on the offensive side of the ball. There’s less to correct on defense, which will be entering its second year under defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

But when grasping for any sort of optimism, Bleacher Report believes that the Bears should feel optimistic about their defense heading into 2020.

The Chicago Bears haven’t tallied as many sacks and turnovers as they did last year, but they still boast a top-10 defense in both points and yards allowed. In a league with quarterbacks freely moving the ball through the air, that’s a notable positive.

Although the Bears struggled against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, giving up 350 yards and 26 points, they have held nine of their opponents to fewer than 21 points this season. They’ve gone 6-3 in those contests, which could be even better with an improved offense.

While the Bears were a disappointment in 2019, it wasn’t due to their defense. Chicago’s defense finished the season allowing the fourth fewest points in the NFL. The one area they struggled to find success was in forcing turnovers — they had 19 in 2019 compared to 36 in 2018 — which will surely be a focus this offseason.

But the Bears will return a cast of players that includes star pass rusher Khalil Mack, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, linebacker Roquan Smith, safety Eddie Jackson and cornerback Kyle Fuller.

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4 bold predictions for Bears’ Week 17 matchup vs. Vikings

Can the Bears offense slow down a hungry Vikings defense? Will Khalil Mack deliver a repeat performance? My final bold predictions for 2019.

The Chicago Bears (7-8) will face the Minnesota Vikings (10-5) in their season finale Sunday, and for many it’s a season that they can’t wait to come to an end.

Following the Super Bowl expectations ahead of the regular-season opener, the Bears have stumbled through their 2019 campaign, where the offense had one of its worst outputs in franchise history.

While the Bears aren’t playing for playoff contention, they’ll be looking to end things on a high note and look towards, hopefully, a much brighter 2020 season.

Here are my final four bold predictions for the Bears’ as they wrap their 2019 season against the Vikings:

1. Bears offense will hold Vikings defense to zero takeaways

There’s no defense that is forcing more turnovers in the past couple of games than the Vikings, who have garnered 10 takeaways in the last two games — seven against the Chargers and three against the Packers — which is four more than any other team in that same span. They’ve forced eight fumbles (recovered six of them) and have four interceptions in the past two weeks.

So the Bears offense definitely has its hands full as it prepares to face a Vikings defense that is peaking just ahead of its postseason berth. The Bears have turned the ball over three times in the past two games — all three of them coming against the Packers. Mitchell Trubisky tossed two interceptions (although one was a Hail Mary at the end of the first half) and David Montgomery lost a costly fumble.

The Bears are coming off a game where they didn’t turn the ball over against the Chiefs. Although we saw how well playing it safe worked out for Chicago.

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NFL Pro Bowl 2020: Bears’ Eddie Jackson, Khalil Mack, Cordarrelle Patterson named to roster

Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Cordarrelle Patterson have been named to the 2020 Pro Bowl.

The 2019 season has been a disappointment for the Chicago Bears as they’ll miss the postseason for the eighth time this decade, but at least three of their players will still have the opportunity to play January football.

Safety Eddie Jackson, kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson and outside linebacker Khalil Mack were named to the NFC squad in the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl.

Punt returner Tarik Cohen, defensive tackle Eddie Goldman and cornerback Kyle Fuller were named alternates.

🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/xEvQ0daneu

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) December 18, 2019

Jackson, Mack and Patterson are all veterans of the NFL’s all-star game. Jackson, returning for the second-consecutive season, has one interception, one forced fumble and 57 total tackles on the season.

Mack was named to his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl with 7.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, and four pass deflections in his second season with the Bears.

Patterson, heading to his third Pro Bowl during his first season with the Bears, leads the league in total kickoff return yards, is second in kickoff return average, and has one touchdown on the season.

Meanwhile, Cohen, Goldman, and Fuller will have the opportunity to participate in the game if one of the starters elects not to play. Should Goldman have the opportunity to play, it will be his first Pro Bowl while Cohen and Fuller would be returning their second.

The 2020 NFL Pro Bowl takes place Sunday, January 26th at 2 p.m. CT in Orlando, FL.

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2020 NFL Pro Bowl: Predicting which Bears players should be selected

Before Tuesday’s reveal of the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters, here’s a look at some Bears players that should make the NFC roster.

Fans, coaches and even players have sounded off on the very best to play this season, and the NFL is set to announce their 2020 Pro Bowl rosters for the AFC and NFC on Tuesday night.

While the Chicago Bears have had an overall disappointing season — which officially ended shortly after last Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers when Chicago was eliminated from playoff contention — there were some players that flashed during a somewhat dim season.

The Bears defense has allowed the third fewest points per game this season, but there have still been some underwhelming performances by some stars late this season. Still, cornerback Kyle Fuller and outside linebacker Khalil Mack are good enough to warrant them a spot on the Pro Bowl roster.

Chicago’s offense, on the other hand, has been disappointing from top to bottom. From quarterback to play caller. Well, except for receiver Allen Robinson, who just eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on the season. It was the first time a Bears receiver accomplished the feat since Alshon Jeffery in 2014.

The Bears special teams have two dynamic return threats that should easily get nods at their respective positions. Kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson is not only the best returner in the NFL, but he’s having quite a season as a gunner, as well. Then there’s speedster punt returner Tarik Cohen, who ranks second in punt return yards with 284.

Here are five Bears players that should be selected for the 2020 Pro Bowl:

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2020 Pro Bowl selection: Time and TV info for roster announcement

The NFL will be revealing the 2020 Pro Bowl roster on Tuesday. Here are all the details.

As the NFL regular season draws to a close, many teams will go home empty handed as the postseason roars to life. One season after winning the NFC North and boasting a No. 3 seed in the conference, the Bears have been eliminated from playoff contention following Week 15 and an overall disappointing outing.

But there are still some Bears players that will have a chance to play some January football as the NFL prepares to announce its 2020 Pro Bowl rosters.

With voting officially closed for the 2020 Pro Bowl, the official announcement of rosters for the AFC and NFC will be announced Tuesday night.

While there aren’t many Bears players that could seemingly make the roster — especially on offense — there are a few that have had Pro-Bowl years, including kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson, receiver Allen Robinson, cornerback Kyle Fuller, punt returner Tarik Cohen and outside linebacker Khalil Mack.

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Whether they make the Pro Bowl roster remains to be seen. But here’s when you can see:

2020 NFL Pro Bowl roster announcement

Date: Tuesday, December 17

Time: 7 p.m. CST

Watch: NFL Network: “NFL Total Access: Pro Bowl Players Revealed”

The Pro Bowl will be held Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 at 2 p.m. CT at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.

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Which Bears players are having Pro Bowl seasons?

While the Bears haven’t lived up to expectations this season, there have been some players that have made their case for a Pro Bowl nod.

The Chicago Bears aren’t living up to their expectations this season, but there are several players that are playing some great football this season that should very much be in Pro Bowl consideration.

Here are 5 Bears that are having Pro Bowl years:

KR Cordarrelle Patterson

It’s an easy argument to make that Cordarrelle Patterson is the best kick returner in the league. Patterson is a threat every time he touches the ball, which he makes a point to do every chance he gets. And the numbers certainly back it up. After 13 games, Patterson has 755 kick return yards, which is the most in the NFL. His lone kick return touchdown against the Saints was 102 yards, the longest in the NFL this season. His 30.2 yards per return also ranks second in the NFL.

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Bears defense stumbles, then shuts down Lions third-string QB David Blough

The Bears’ defense struggled to stop third-string QB David Blough in the first quarter before coming up clutch in the fourth quarter.

With the Detroit Lions down to their third-string quarterback David Blough, everyone expected the Chicago Bears defense to take care of business.

Instead, the defense struggled on the Lions’ first two possessions where they allowed a pair of Blough touchdowns and the Bears found themselves down 17-7 in the first 11 minutes of Thursday’s 24-20 comeback win over the Lions.

“We would never put that past anybody, thinking they wouldn’t come to play,” Bears safety Eddie Jackson said, via the Chicago Tribune. “This is the NFL. You have to come to play. We just came to the sidelines and had to regroup. It was really nothing he did. It was on us. We came out sluggish the first two drives. We came back to the sideline and had to regroup.”

After Blough’s first-quarter touchdowns, the Bears defense regrouped and allowed just two Matt Prater field goals in the final three quarters.

But it was early in the fourth quarter with the Lions facing a third-and-one at the Bears’ 5-yard line where cornerback Kyle Fuller came up with a game-changing stop of Lions running back J.D. McKissic for no gain. That forced the Lions to settle for a Prater field goal to jump ahead 20-17 rather than by a touchdown.

“That was huge, probably the biggest play of the game as far as the situation goes,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “To make a shoestring tackle like that on third-and-1, that is an absolute game changer.”

After the Bears’ offense orchestrated a nine-play, 90-yard drive that culminated in a Mitchell Trubisky to David Montgomery go-ahead touchdown, it was up to Chicago’s defense to come up with a stop.

With the Lions driving at Chicago’s 27, the defense came up with two back-to-back stops on third and fourth down. On third-and-nine, linebacker Roquan Smith sacked Blough for a loss of 13 yards. Faced with a fourth-and-22 with :29 left, Blough heaved a desperation pass for receiver Kenny Golladay, where Jackson came down with his first interception of the season that sealed the victory for the Bears.

It was Jackson’s second interception in as many Thanksgiving games, although it wasn’t a pick-six like last year, it was a crucial play when the Bears needed it.

“Yeah, it was a free one,” Jackson said. “I really wanted to score, but I did the right thing.”

The Bears’ defense struggled against the rookie Blough, who was making his first career start, in the first quarter — particularly cornerback Prince Amukamara, who allowed that 75-yard touchdown reception for Golladay on the first Lions’ drive.

But ultimately, the Bears’ defense settled in and were able to shut down Blough and the Lions’ offense when they needed to in order to secure Chicago’s second straight win — and fourth consecutive victory against the Lions.

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