The Bears have talked about taking the ball away for two years.
They’ve been living it for two games.
They forced three interceptions and a fumble against the Lions in Week 11 and then, a week later, picked off Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs four times.
They are one of two teams this season to have four or more takeaways in consecutive games, joining the Broncos in Games 8-9. It’s happened only five other times since 2020.
The Bears’ streak hasn’t ended yet, either — if they take the ball away four times or more in Sunday’s rematch against the Lions at Soldier Field, they’ll become just the third team in 15 years to do so three games in a row.
Is it luck? Skill? Positioning?
“That’s a good question,” coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday.
For one, he said, it’s a function of not having to blitz to pressure the quarterback. Trading for defensive Montez Sweat has allowed Eberflus, the defensive play-caller, to improve his pass rush while keeping eight defenders in the backfield.
“Our guys are really understanding the coverages now,” Eberflus said. “We’re able to disguise those coverages, mix them in there, and it’s really just all-encompassing for that. Certainly, there’s some luck involved with the way the ball bounces, sometimes — but hustle and attention to detail creates some of that luck, too.”
Through their first 10 games, the Bears averaged 0.9 takeaways per game — tied for third-worst in the NFL. After Week 13 — two games and a bye later — the Bears are ranked 15th with 1.4 per game.
“We worked on this,” defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker said. “We just put it all together and we want to keep it going.”
What’s more amazing about the takeaways: the Bears could have had more. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson had incomplete passes hit him in the hands both in Minneapolis and Detroit.
“You have to be in position to make the play, you have to be able to capitalize on the plays,” Johnson said. “We should have more. They come in bunches. Every team isn’t just getting that amount of picks. …
“The D-line getting pressure up front and then being disruptive, whether it’s tipping the ball or pressure or things like that. … The back end being sticky with coverage, linebackers getting in their drops, getting in the right windows. Everybody’s making plays in the pass game.”
Eberflus believes that you are what you emphasize. Bears coaches post individual standings for takeaways in team meetings. On the sideline during games, he reminds players to punch at the ball as they’re running on the field.
“He teaches ‘Be around the ball,’” linebacker Jack Sanborn said. “Good things will happen when you’re around the ball.”
After the dropped interceptions, Eberflus had the coaching staff had players try to replicate what he calls the “catch angle” during individual drills in practice. He has coaches and players mimic the same approach to the ball they have when they break on passes in games.
The Bears have emphasized takeaways for years, with mixed results. Coordinator Sean Desai’s “Takeaway Bucket,” a glorified trash can into which defenders deposited takeaways, yielded just 16 in 2021, the fifth-fewest in the NFL.
There’s still more for Eberflus to harp on. The Bears’ 13 interceptions are second-most in the NFL. But they’ve recovered only four fumbles, the second-fewest.
“We’ve got a lot of interceptions,” Sanborn said, “and now we gotta start causing fumbles.”
And then do something with it.
“We just have to cause more fumbles,” safety Jaquan Brisker said, “and try to score.”
