By Adam Hoge-
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Marc Trestman walked into the interview room at MetLife Stadium looking a little flustered.
“Just trying to clear my head,” he said. “Quite a game.”
Quite a win too. Despite his offense only scoring two touchdowns and his defense weathering injury after injury, the Bears managed to pull out a 27-19 victory over the Jets, winning their second straight primetime game.
Sure, just like last week’s unlikely win against the 49ers, the Bears’ opponent helped them along the way, making it somewhat hard to evaluate how good this team really is. But give the Bears credit for one thing: Unlike last season, when injuries decimated an already suspect defense, this year’s unit is stomaching the aches and pains quite well, even if it doesn’t seem like it.
The Jets out-gained the Bears 414-257 in total net yards Monday night, but were only able to score one touchdown on the Bears in six trips into the red zone.
“Our red zone defense really was excellent,” Trestman said. “We made them go the long, hard way. Significant, significant defense in the outcome of the game.”
Do you know that in three games, the Bears have yet to allow a second half touchdown? In fact, the Bears have only allowed a total of 12 second half points this season. And the Jets’ six points second half points Monday night looked dominate compared the mere three second half points the Bills and 49ers each mustered in the first two weeks.
And what’s really impressive is that the Bears have done that despite already missing five starters on defense. For the second straight week, the Bears’ defense needed large contributions from four rookies to seal the win: cornerback Kyle Fuller (first round), defensive tackle Ego Ferguson (second round), defensive tackle Will Sutton (third round) and safety Brock Vereen (safety).
Three games isn’t exactly a large sample size, but maybe it’s time to give general manager Phil Emery some credit for his defensive draft picks.
The injuries got so bad Monday night that with Chris Conte (shoulder) and Ryan Mundy (shoulder) out of the game, the Bears ended up with seventh-round rookie Ahmad Dixon — who was signed off the Vikings’ practice squad after originally being drafted by the Cowboys — in the game in a crucial moment in the fourth quarter after backup Danny McCray left briefly too.
“We went through this whole training camp saying we were going to rotate guys around, that we had a plan, that we’re going to work all these guys, then Dixon is out there and he’s been here about three days,” Trestman said. “He’s out there playing the ultimate moments of the game.”
OK, it’s been more than three days. Fifteen to be exact, but forgive Trestman for losing track. Dixon was signed to boost the special teams unit and certainly wasn’t supposed to be in at safety in a crucial moment on Monday Night Football.
Quite frankly, this defense shouldn’t be performing as well as it is with this many injuries. The Bears started the game without defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff, cornerback Charles Tillman (on IR) and linebacker Shea McClellin. They ended it with Conte and Mundy out too.
Last year, losing five starters sent the defense into a spiral it couldn’t get out of. But what you’re seeing now is how good drafting can help your depth in a hurry. No one ever expects four rookies to have a significant impact this quickly, but that’s the situation the Bears’ find themselves in.
And before you discredit the performance by pointing out that Jets quarterback Geno Smith was erratic and at times downright silly with some of his decision-making — which he was — keep in mind that the Bears’ defense held the league’s No. 1 rushing offense to just 114 yards on the ground.
“Our run defense was very good again,” Trestman said. “It was very physical down there. Guys running to the ball. It wasn’t perfect, it never is.”
Not perfect, but so much better than it was a year ago.
And it helped the Bears win a game in which the offense struggled to score points.
“Two weeks in a row we wish we would have gotten a touchdown on the last drive to kind of close it out,” Bears quarterback Jay Cutler said. “The defense, they’re getting some edge to them … They’re getting more and more confidence. It’s fun to watch.”
For Cutler, it certainly has to be more fun to watch than last year and it’s due in large part to the rookie infusion.
Another interception for Fuller. First career sack for Ferguson. A consistent push and tackle for loss for Sutton. Great coverage on a fourth down stop to ice the game by Vereen.
“They’re all fighters,” linebacker Lance Briggs said. “You can tell that everybody wants to make a play. And that’s important because the man next to you, you let him know that you’re dependable and we can all count on you.”
Accountability was a big problem when the injuries hit last year. It’s a much different story now.
“Guys seem to be passing the test,” Briggs said. “And we’re not even grading on a curve right now.”
There won’t be a need to grade on a curve if the rookies keep playing at this level.
Adam Hoge covers the Bears for 87.7 The Game and TheGameChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.