As Ravens journeyman quarterback Tyler Huntley sliced up the Bears for the best game of his career Sunday, they sacked him just twice.
The Bears had a chance to turn him into a fountain of turnovers but did little to pressure him into mistakes. The last time Huntley started a game, by the way, he took four sacks and threw two interceptions in a loss. A fearsome pass rush makes all the difference.
“When you have a two-sack day and it’s looked at as a disappointment, we’re trending in the right direction,” Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said, trying to put a positive spin on it.
Two sacks in a game should be a letdown for any defense. Teams that average that for the season will be at the bottom of the NFL, and the Bears know that as well as anyone.
In four seasons under general manager Ryan Poles, the pass rush remains unfixed. The Bears have the fewest sacks in the NFL in that span with just 104 in 67 games and rank 25th this season with 14.
The maddening part is that the Bears have poured resources into their defensive line, yet little has changed. The combined pay for Jarrett — he missed a month with a knee injury — and defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo is $54.8 million per season, and the other starting defensive tackle is Gervon Dexter, a second-round pick.
There’s nothing a pass rusher loves more than getting a one-on-one matchup, but the Bears haven’t cashed in on theirs.
“Sweat has started to ascend over the last few games and I’m pretty pleased with how he’s playing,” coach Ben Johnson said. “Dayo has been really good as an interior rusher and played a really strong game last week in the run game, but on the edge, we’re still working on that.”
The Bears projected Odeyingbo to be more of a threat when they signed him for $48 million over three years. They bet big that he was entering his prime after 16½ sacks for the Colts over his first four seasons, but his lone sack came in the season opener.
Sweat has three sacks, forcing a fumble on two of them, and got one in each of the last two games.
“We’ve been switching around a lot,” Sweat said. “Grady just got back in the lineup and he’s a big part of getting our pass rush lanes together. It’s a little chemistry thing. The more reps we get together, the better.”
That might work, or the Bears might rethink their personnel heading into the trade deadline Tuesday. Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson appears to be available, but the cost likely would be prohibitive to the Bears, especially with the money they’ve already committed up front.
Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17½ sacks, hasn’t practiced this week because of a hip injury but hasn’t missed a game this -season.
The Bears have a golden opportunity to ignite their pass rush against the Bengals’ offensive line, which has been under fire all season after allowing quarterback Joe Burrow to take hits and end up on injured reserve. He was pressured on 30.2% of his dropbacks before getting hurt in Week 2.
Pro Football Focus ranks the Bengals’ line last in run blocking, fourth-worst in pass blocking and 30th overall.
There is liability, though, when it comes to veteran quarterback Joe Flacco. At 40, he’s well past his physical prime, but he can light up the Bears’ secondary if the pass rush isn’t in his face. Quarterbacks with that much experience — 18 seasons, 214 starts — can detect any lapse in coverage if they’re -allowed to sit comfortably in the pocket and wait.
It’s basically now or never. If the pass rush doesn’t get rolling this week, it’s difficult to envision it ever coming together the way the Bears planned.
