3 Things We Learned About the Bears Defense After Week 1

Good evening, and happy Victory Monday, Bears fans! And what a victory it was, as the Monsters of the Midway treated fans (and the Carolina Panthers) to an historic offensive performance that saw the team put up the most points in a season opener in franchise history with 59—also tied for the second-most points scored in a Week 1 game in league history.

However, for as impressive as the Bears’ offense looked during the blowout win, yesterday’s game also saw the defense allow 37 points and almost 500 total yards. As such, there’s plenty to talk about—both good and bad—when it comes to that side of the ball.

Here are three things Week 1 taught us about the Bears defense.

1: The Secondary Is a Mixed Bag—but It’s Going To Get Better:

The good? Both Malik Muhammad and Dillon Thieneman had very strong NFL debuts; Muhammad intercepted Bryce Young at the very end of the first half and had two other PBUs, while Thieneman led the team in tackles (10) and made plays all over the field.

The bad? Jaylon Johnson and Tyrique Stevenson—who are supposed to be anchoring the secondary—were burned nearly all day by the Panthers’ pass-catchers; Johnson allowed five catches for 127 yards and had a 113.7 passer rating allowed when targeted. Stevenson had an even rougher game—while he gave up just 77 yards, he also surrendered two touchdowns (including a frankly inexcusable deep ball to Jalen Coker) and allowed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when targeted.

The ugly? The Bears defense, and especially the secondary, made Carolina’s offense—sixth-worst in the NFL last year in both total yards per game (295.6) and points per game (18.3), and seventh-worst in passing yards per game (179.3)—look like one of the leagues’ top units. Bryce Young threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, and the Panthers gained 17 of their 22 first downs via the air while averaging 8.8 yards per pass on the day. And yet, there is still lots of room for optimism.

Why? First, it’s only Week 1. Normally, neither Jaylon Johnson nor Tyrique Stevenson are even remotely close to as bad as they were during Sunday’s game. While ‘freshness’ (i.e., getting reps in the preseason vs. not) isn’t necessarily the sole reason for the numbers they both allowed, it’s certainly a factor. Simply put, they’re both going to be better as the season goes on—we’ve seen in the past how good they both are/can be, especially throughout the course of a full season compared to the team’s first game.

Secondly, the positives from yesterday leave plenty to be excited about. Beyond Thieneman and Muhammad’s aforementioned excellent debuts, Johnson also forced a fumble in the second half, and the adjustments made at halftime were (eventually) noticeable. Once the entire unit is able to perform consistently—and over an entire game—, the numbers will start to look much better.

Finally—and perhaps most importantly—, the Bears’ upcoming schedule will be the perfect test/opportunity to improve. The Bears’ three-game homestand sees them play the Vikings, Eagles, and Jets. All three of those games are verywinnable, but all three of those games also feature at least one elite receiving weapon on the other side. If Thieneman and Muhammad can continue their great starts, that leaves room for both Johnson and Stevenson to work out the kinks in prep for opponents they’re already familiar with.

In short, there’s no time—and no better chance—like the present for Chicago’s secondary to address the issues from yesterday, and thus improve the on-field results. If they can’t, then the concerns will be real (and justified).

2: Depth Is Still a Big Concern:

For better or worse, Ryan Poles made the decision to let several key pieces from last year’s defense walk, including Tremaine Edmunds, Jaquan Brisker, and Kevin Byard. Poles was also unable to land Maxx Crosby, and elected to not trade up to draft a pass rusher in either Kayden McDonald or Gabe Jacas. As a result, the Bears are left with a bit of a problem when it comes to the depth of their defense.

As we explored above, the secondary is going to (hopefully) right their ship as the season goes on (and getting Xavier Woods, Coby Bryant and—maybe—Kyler Gordon back from injuries will help along the way). As for the defensive line and linebackers, that may be a different story.

For one thing, both of those groups are still relatively unproven; on Sunday, the Bears only allowed 125 rushing yards to a team with a highly capable (and underrated) run game—but they also gave up 5.7 yards per carry, which is a very bad number regardless of opponent. So, similar to the secondary, the next few weeks/opponents should hopefully provide a better picture of just how good or bad they actually are.

That being said, the lack of depth is evident. T.J. Edwards is a stellar leader in the LB room, and D’Marco Jackson had several great games last year. Devin Bush, despite his rather disappointing Bears debut, is still an extremely solid linebacker and he too will likely improve as the season progresses. But, if one (or more) of those names go down with an injury, the Bears’ current options aren’t all that promising (Jack Sanborn, the Sewell brothers, and Ruben Hyppolite are the current names, and Sanborn is the only one currently healthy).

And then there’s the pass rush. The Bears are essentially (or at least, apparently) counting on Montez Sweat to return to his Pro Bowl form—which admittedly, does seem rather likely—, and that the rest of the defensive line will follow suit with their play. Unfortunately, there are no sure things in life. Now, if Austin Booker can stay on the field, and Jordan Van Den Burg’s excellent camp actually translates to in-game reps, then there is a reason for a bit more hope—but not much beyond that, given the rest of the pieces the team currently has.

Simply put, Ryan Poles needs to strongly consider making—and then actually make—several moves to bolster Dennis Allen’s defense if Chicago’s Super Bowl aspirations are going to have any chance.

3: Turnovers Are There for the Taking:

Perhaps the biggest concern regarding the defense during the offseason was whether or not they would still be able to force turnovers the way they did last season. It was a perfectly reasonable question, given who they let walk on that side of the ball.

But—at least for the moment—it seems as though there’s no reason to be concerned. Indeed, the Monsters of the Midway forced three turnovers against the Panthers, and they certainly have the players capable of forcing many more as the season progresses.

Dillon Thieneman is only going to improve in coverage as time goes on, and is probably the likeliest candidate to turn into this year’s ball-hawk for the Bears—along with Malik Muhammad, who already has an interception. Elsewhere, Dayo Odeyingbo surprised nearly everybody when he showed his potential ability to cause chaos with his blocked extra point in the second half, and Jaylon Johnson’s aforementioned forced fumble is a very good sign despite the game he had as a whole.

True, the number of turnovers likely won’t be the same this year compared to 2025. But the potential to wreak havoc is certainly there—and that’s something Bears fans can definitely feel good about.

There you have it, Bears fans; three things we learned about the defense from Week 1! But of course, yesterday’s game was only the first of the season. With 16 others left on the schedule, there’s plenty more to learn going forward—and plenty of football left to be played.