Bears defenders are ‘turnover monsters,’ but how long can they rely on it?

Nahshon Wright rolled over, jumped up and ran toward the sideline, hoping his teammates would be there to block for him. The Bears cornerback skittered toward the left hash, juked outside at the Bears’ 45 and sprinted up the sideline in the second quarter Sunday. With two tacklers closing in, he ran out of bounds at the Saints’ 30 without being touched.

Before he tied the record for being the tallest cornerback in NFL history, the 6-foot-4 Wright played wide receiver at Laney College of “Last Chance U” fame. He was persuaded to move to defense, though — the offense ran the ball a lot, he said, and he was eager to make an impact.

“I like to have the ball in my hands,” he said.

So do the Bears, who had four more takeaways in Sunday’s 26-14 win against the Saints.

The Bears have 15 takeaways in their last four games, their most in a single-season four-game span in 14 years and the most in the NFL since the Broncos did it two years ago.

They have 16 on the season. In the last 10 years, only three teams had more during their first six games in a season — the 2024 Packers, 2018 Bears and the 2015 Broncos all had 17. The Broncos won the Super Bowl and the other two made the playoffs.

“For us to get takeaways … that changes the game,” slot cornerback Kyler Gordon said. “It’s about us and our group — not only the DBs but the whole defense — being takeaway machines and turnover monsters. Monsters of the Midway.”:

Entering Monday night’s games, the Bears led the NFL with 11 interceptions and ranked second with five fumble recoveries. Their +11 turnover margin was best in the league.

Takeaways have become the Bears’ identity. It would be foolish, though, to count on it the rest of the season — at least to the ridiculous extent the Bears have forced turnovers this season. Coaches across the league believe that takeaways are proportional to the amount of emphasis they receive in practice — but also know that they come in spurts. You can’t game plan around them.

“I think our defense is doing a phenomenal job of knowing where that ball is,” coach Ben Johnson said. “When you make it a point of emphasis, normally good things happen.

“They’re doing a great job with it. If there’s a point where we’re not getting as many takeaways, I know another phase of our defense or offense or special teams will find a way to come through for us.”

They could be in for a new challenge if Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, who leads the NFL with a 130.5 passer rating, plays Sunday. He didn’t practice Monday because of the hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 5 but coach John Harbaugh maintains the plan is for him to play.

Even if he’s hampered, Jackson is a different weapon than the Saints’ Spencer Rattler, the Raiders’ Geno Smith and the Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy, three of the six quarterbacks the Bears have faced already this season. They’ve thrown a combined 17 interceptions in 16 games.

If the Bears can smother bad quarterbacks, though, that still qualifies as progress. Sunday, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen blitzed the second-year Rattler from all angles and showed him unusual defensive fronts.

“Probably rattled him,” Gordon said, proud of his word choice.

The Bears’ series against Rattler at the start of the second quarter was their nastiest in years.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards was flagged for pass interference on the first play of the drive, which started about a minute into the second quarter. On the next play, Gordon blitzed from Rattler’s right on a screen pass and jumped on his back, trying to chop at the ball with both arms, for a sack and a loss of four yards.

On second-and-19, safety Jaquan Brisker blitzed from the same side, shoved running back Alvin Kamara to the ground and sacking Rattler. The quarterback fell backward with and had to reach his left arm to the ball to stop from fumbling.

“Our little guys … they’re hitting violently,” Johnson said.

On third-and-28, Brisker blitzed again from over the right tackle, ducking inside tight end Juwan Johnson and hitting Rattler as he threw. The ball floated toward the ground and almost into the diving arms of defensive end Dominique Robinson, who dropped into coverage on the zone blitz. Brisker was flagged for hitting Rattler in the head, though, giving the Saints a first down.

The Bears then stuffed Kamara for a one-yard gain before Edwards let an interception chance go between his arms as he dove in front of receiver Rashid Shaheed. One player later, Wright got his interception.

In a six-play span, the Bears had two sacks and came within inches of two interceptions — one of which would have been wiped out by a flag — before picking off Rattler.

“We’re ball-hungry,” Brisker said. “You can tell — guys are playing for the ball. …

“We’re trying to make history as a defense. We’re trying to be the best.”