Adrian Peterson, Lions gashed Bears defense. That's 'not who we are,' Nagy says

Jaylon Johnson knew Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was coming his direction.

The Bears rookie cornerback had just watched Lions rookie running back D’Andre Swift drop what would’ve been the game-winning touchdown in Sunday's season opener.

“I knew Stafford was coming back that way,” Johnson said. “That was his best receiver [Marvin Jones Jr.] on that side. He was just trying to look the defense off. But it was obvious he was coming back. It was just being able to find the ball, make a play on the ball and break it up.”

That’s exactly what Johnson did.

He broke up Stafford’s pass to the left corner of the end zone, giving the Bears a come-from-behind win, 27-23, on Sunday. The celebration was on and “club dub” was rocking in the Bears' locker room.

The result masked what was otherwise a rough first three quarters of the season.

Given the recent history, it’s not surprising the Bears offense struggled for much of the game. Bears fans are used to that. But the defense allowed 426 yards of total offense, it’s highest total in nearly two years.

Between the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, Stafford and the Lions scored 17 points on three possessions against a Bears D on its heels.

“We have to be better on third down and get off the field,” Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said Thursday. “Give up a third-and-10? Give up a third-and-17? That’s just bad ball. And I have to do a better job of putting them in position to get out of those situations.”

The Lions were 6-of-16 on third downs. When Stafford wasn’t finding open receivers, 35-year-old running back Adrian Peterson was hitting holes like he was 26 again. Peterson gashed the Bears for 93 yards on 14 attempts, a 6.6-yard average.

Against the run, the Bears miss nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out before the season. Goldman isn’t coming back, so other guys on the defensive line need to step up.

Nose tackles Bilal Nichols and John Jenkins, as well as defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris, all had quiet games.

Outside linebacker Khalil Mack struggled to break through the Lions offensive line, though Mack was the Bears’ most effective pass rusher Sunday, according to NFL Next Gen Stats’ “average separation from QB” metric. Tackle Akiem Hicks had a somewhat quiet day, too, but made up for it with a fourth-quarter sack.

Head coach Matt Nagy said the defense was receptive to the coaches’ criticism this week.

“That game we just played defensively last week is not who we are,” Nagy said. “I do know that. In our team meetings we’ve had the last couple of days, they’ve felt that, in a good way. They don’t take it personal. See, some people would take it personal. They don’t. And yesterday, out at practice, you could see that they were understanding where myself and the defensive staff were coming from.”

The Bears will be seeing another challenging running back in the New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley. Barkley had a tough time finding any running lanes Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. His offensive line didn’t give him much help, and he finished with six rushing yards on 15 carries.

Jenkins said the Steelers really “got after it” against Barkley and the Giants.

The Bears defense should be thrilled by the lackadaisical effort from the Giants’ offensive line. At the same time, though, the Bears defensive front will have to play better.

“After last week, you know [the Giants are] going to try to run the ball right at us,” Pagano said. “Whether it’s between the tackles, get [Barkley] on the edge, throw him the ball in the pass game. Screens. This that and the other. … We’ve got our hands full. So it’s good to have those guys come in, and after one week, know exactly where they’re at and what we have to do to improve.”

Injury update: Outside linebacker Robert Quinn (ankle) returned to practice this week. Quinn didn't practice at all last week and missed the season opener. He was limited in practice Wednesday.

“We’re going to get a good chance to be able to see him,” Nagy said. “I don’t know to what capacity yet. We’ll kind of see where that goes and how he is.”

Having Quinn back would certainly help that Bears pass rush.