By A to Z Sports,Mauricio Rodriguez

Copyright yardbarker

The New York Giants dropping 37 points on you is a clear sign that you might have some defensive woes. For the Dallas Cowboys, however, it’s also a warning for the offense: It will be needed at its best if the franchise is to win ballgames. Fortunately for Dak Prescott and Co., Week 3 should provide a huge opportunity to build upon an impressive second half versus the Giants. The Chicago Bears are next in the schedule and so far, they boast one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, ranking fifth-worst in EPA/play versus opponent’s dropbacks, per Sports Info Solutions. They rank second-worst in success rate allowed. That spells trouble against Prescott, who has thrown for the most big-time throws in the league and boasts the second-highest PFF passing grade. In two games, he’s made elite throws while masterfully buying time in the pocket to find his receivers. A to Z Sports’ Bears expert Kole Noble provided important insight from the state of Chicago’s defense, which was coached by Matt Eberflus from 2022 to 2024.

Bears defense is in disarray

From Kole Noble: Chicago’s defensive performance against the Detroit Lions in Week 2 was inexcusable. Going into the season, a lot of hype surrounded defensive coordinator’s Dennis Allen’s unit based on how they looked against Ben Johnson’s offense in training camp and against other units during both joint practices.Over the last five quarters, the Bears have allowed 73 points. The Bears are hoping that kind of showing is nothing more than a bump in the road that will be corrected going forward. But will it?Injuries are already stacking up for this unit. Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson missed Week 1 and then left the game in Week 2, he’s now expected to be out indefinitely. Linebacker T.J. Edwards returned against the Lions but also left the game after reaggravating his hamstring injury. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon missed both games and is still considered week-to-week.Those kinds of losses would sting for any team, but even that shouldn’t be an excuse. The pass rush in Chicago was non-existent in Week 2 despite having a fully healthy, and highly-paid, defensive front. Head coach Ben Johnson expressed frustration with starting edge rushers Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo failing to consistently win one-on-one opportunities and the interior wasn’t creating any push toward the quarterback either. Overall, the pass rush had zero sacks and only five total pressures in the Week 2 loss.

As a result, a quarterback like Jared Goff can easily pick apart the man coverage in the secondary with a clean pocket. Tyrique Stevenson struggled to keep up with Amon-Ra St. Brown on crossing routes, leading to big plays after the catch, while Jameson Williams burned past the secondary for a 44-yard touchdown. Stevenson, especially, has been a liability in coverage allowing 15.5 yards per target between the first two games of the season.The Bears’ pass rush has to pick up in order to help this short-handed secondary. Otherwise, an offense like the Cowboys, with a similar type of weapons, can replicate the level of success the Lions had against this unit and it won’t be pretty to see for the second week in a row.

Bears’ weakness is something George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb will love to hear

When Noble points out a weakness defending crossing routes, I can’t help but think about the Cowboys’ latest performance versus the Giants. Prescott found Pickens and Lamb for big gains in crossing routes, as the play diagrams below show. In overtime, the head coach Brian Schottenheimer dialed up a deep combination of crossing routes that freed up Pickens for a 27-yard gain that put the offense into enemy territory.