Roquan Smith opens up on what went wrong for the Bears' defense
Coming off an ugly win against the Texans, the Bears had another brutal showing against an underwhelming New York Giants team. There are still questions on offense, defense, and the coaching staff for the Bears.
Let's focus on the defensive side of the ball for now. It was the only unit where we thought the Bears could thrive and rely on. However, it was the case at all on Sunday.
The Bears' run defense allowed a season-high 262 yards and two touchdowns on 44 attempts, with Giants star running back Saquon Barkley amassing 146 yards on 31 carries, including 90 yards on 12 attempts in the first half.
"It was definitely a challenge," said LB Roquan Smith. "He came out and played a great game. There were a lot of mistakes on our behalf. We've just got to get better from it, grow from it. He's a heck of a player, but that's no excuse. We've just got to all get better and look ourselves in the mirror, including myself."
Giants QB Daniel Jones repeatedly fooled the Bears' defense with play-action bootlegs. Indeed, Jones scored TDs on runs of 21 and 8 yards on similar plays in the first half, faking handoffs to Barkley to the right and running back to his left.
"Those guys had a good game plan and they got some plays on us," said Smith, who led the Bears with 10 tackles. "We've just got to learn from them. It was just good on their behalf and us just not sticking to our keys. That's what it all comes back down to, sticking to your keys. If you do that, you'll have a great shot at stopping them. But hats off to those guys. They played a great game and we didn't finish the way we wanted."
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