Bears insider grades the defense during the pre-season game.
The Bears had a pretty good game overall. We saw some great things and we saw some not-so-great things. With that being said, here is what Josh Schrock had to say on how the Bears' defense played vs the Chiefs' dangerous attack.
Passing defense
Patrick Mahomes played one series and shredded the Bears' starting defense minus Robert Quinn, Roquan Smith, Kyler Gordon, and Kindle Vildor.
Rookie safety Jaquan Brisker took some of the blame by noting that his "happy feet" gave some of the Bears' defensive looks away to Mahomes pre-snap.
Mahomes picked on linebacker Matt Adams, who was playing the WILL in place of Smith, as the Chiefs marched down the field.
Cornerback Lamar Jackson got the start in place of Vildor and missed a crucial tackle in the red zone.
On a positive note, edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad had two pressures in limited snaps and looks like he'll be a nice complimentary piece opposite Quinn.
Brisker settled down after the first series and showed why the Bears are so excited about what he can become. The Penn State product had an incredible three-play sequence in which he laid a massive hit on Chiefs receiver Skyy Moore, came around the edge and punished running back Derrick Gore, and then baited quarterback Shane Buechele into a near interception.
He's the real deal.
As for the non-starters, Sanborn, as mentioned, had a big day in his NFL debut. The undrafted rookie recorded an interception and recovered a fumble in the second half. Meanwhile, Dominique Robinson, Micah Dew-Treadway, and Trevon Coley got consistent pressure against the Chiefs' backups.
There were good moments, but Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense thoroughly handled the starting defense. That's nothing new. The Chiefs do that to most teams. But it shows there's a lot of room for growth.
Grade: C-
Rushing defense
Andy Reid had everyone from Mahomes to Dustin Crum chucking the ball around Saturday. The Chiefs threw the ball 40 times compared to 19 runs. Six of those 19 runs were quarterback scrambles or designed QB runs.
So, we're dealing with a relatively small sample size here. That being said, the Bears' run defense was solid Saturday.
The Chiefs gained just 52 yards on the ground for 2.7 a clip. Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Isiah Pacheco each gained 6 yards on two carries, while Ronald Jones gained 1 yard on four carries.
It's hard to offer a grade with such a small sample, but the run defense did its job.
Grade: B
