Bears safety Eddie Jackson has been the most pleasant surprise on defense through the first four weeks, where he’s returned to his playmaking form from his first few seasons.
Jackson has been paired with rookie safety Jaquan Brisker, which has allowed Jackson to return to his natural position at free safety while Brisker occupies the strong safety role.
Through four games, we’ve seen the difference it’s already made. After not having an interception since 2019, Jackson has totaled three interceptions through four games.
That includes an impressive pick of Giants backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor in the fourth quarter, which left Brisker in awe.
“I thought that play he made was a crazy play,” Brisker said, via ChicagoBears.com. “I was watching it. Watching him track it the whole way, and the catch it, I was like, ‘yeah that’s a great play.’ Not too many people can make that play. Not too many safeties actually can make that play. That’s different. Him tracking it like he’s in center field playing baseball, him catching it even with the receiver right there and giving the ball back to our offense. That’s a huge play. No matter what nobody says. That’s great. That’s great safety play.”
Brisker noted how Jackson’s performance has elevated the entire secondary, which is allowing 168.5 passing yards per game, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
“For the backend, as I said, that just gives us more momentum and more swagger and things like that,” Brisker said. “Teams can’t try us on the backend. We’re showing that on film. We’re proving it. Day in, day out we’re proving it. They can’t touch us back there. Especially having Eddie back there in center field, he’s controlling everything. He’s doing what he has to do and then that’s making our job easier.”
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