March 28, 2024


News

Despite Tony Dungy's comments, Bears defense doesn't believe it quit Sunday

Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano doesn’t believe his defense quit Sunday, despite NBC broadcaster Tony Dungy’s suggestion otherwise.

The Bears defense allowed touchdowns on each of the Green Bay Packers’ first three possessions. At one point in the 41-25 loss, the Bears trailed Green Bay by a 41-10 margin.

Dungy, the former Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, said on the “Sunday Night Football” broadcast that it looked like the Bears gave up.

“Our guys never give up,” Pagano said. “I’ll fight anybody tooth and nail on that. And I love Tony. I have great respect for Tony. … But I don’t pay attention to any of that stuff. Our guys don’t ever quit.”

The most reliable part of this Bears team, the defense, played its worst game of the season Sunday. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers moved up and down the field with surgical precision, piling up 28 first downs and 393 total yards of offense. With Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks sidelined due to a hamstring injury, the Packers rushed for 182 yards, the most the Bears have allowed in a game since 2016.

Whether or not the Bears defense gave up, it was a bad look against a storied rival on national television. The performance drew the ire of head coach Matt Nagy, who was already at a loss for words regarding his offense. Defensive struggles were the last thing Nagy needed added to his plate.

Nagy called Sunday’s loss “embarrassing” Monday morning. He clarified that he wasn’t trying to throw the defense under the bus.

“But what I’m saying is that our defense understands and they know how significant and important they are to this team,” Nagy said.

Nagy had “healthy” conversations with the defense in their regular Wednesday meeting.

Safety Eddie Jackson disagreed with Dungy’s assessment that the Bears quit, but he understands where Nagy’s criticism is coming from.

“Coach Nagy’s not the type of person where he’s going to come and bash somebody, throw somebody under the bus,” Jackson said. “I don’t feel like anyone took offense to it. For us, we just need to go out there and learn better.”

Pagano, for his part, admitted to some mistakes in the defensive play calling. There were times the Bears dropped eight defenders into coverage, rushing three. It was a strategy that Rodgers picked apart. Even with eight men in coverage, the Packers still found ways to free up receiver Davante Adams.

Under Pagano, the Bears have one of the lowest blitz percentages in the NFL (22.9% according to Pro Football Reference). Blitzing would be one thing, but rushing only three against Rodgers clearly backfired.

Green Bay went 6-for-11 on third downs against what had been the No. 1 third-down defense in the NFL (the Bears dropped to No. 2 after Week 12).

“The big plays, the explosive plays, not playing well on third down, not playing well in the red [zone], again, that all falls on me,” Pagano said. “I take full responsibility for all that stuff. Because we've been doing that [well].”

Dungy can say the Bears gave up, and the Bears can deny it. What will really indicate if this Bears defense quit will be the performance this week against the Detroit Lions.

Bad games happen. How a team responds to bad games is the true indicator of where it stands.

“When you talk about quitting, that’s an effort, that’s a pride thing,” safety Tashaun Gipson said. “That’s a mental thing. And I don’t think that no guy in here quit. Did guys not play their best game? Of course. I wouldn’t deny that. But I don’t think, for us to say quitting, I think that’s a tough term to say about this defense.”

Sean Hammond

Sean Hammond

Sean is the Chicago Bears beat reporter for the Shaw Local News Network. He has covered the Bears since 2020. Prior to writing about the Bears, he covered high school sports for the Northwest Herald and contributed to Friday Night Drive. Sean joined Shaw Media in 2016.