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

Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright rolled over, jumped up and ran toward the sideline, hoping his teammates would be there to block for him. He 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 6-4 Wright played wide receiver at Laney College, of ‘‘Last Chance U’’ fame. He was persuaded to move to defense, however. 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 their 26-14 victory against the Saints.

The Bears have 15 takeaways in their last four games, their most in a four-game span in one season 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 of the season: The 2024 Packers, 2018 Bears and 2015 Broncos had 17. That Broncos team 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.’ ’’

Before the two Monday night games, the Bears led the NFL with 11 interceptions and ranked second with five fumble recoveries. Their plus-11 turnover margin was the best in the league.

Takeaways have become the Bears’ identity. It would be foolish, however, for the team to count on them for the rest of the season — at least to the same extent. Coaches across the league think takeaways are proportional to the amount of emphasis they receive in practice, but they also know 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,’’ head 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.’’

The Bears might 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 Ravens head 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 this season. They’ve thrown a combined 17 interceptions in 16 games.

If the Bears can smother bad quarterbacks, however, that still qualifies as progress. On 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 sacked Rattler, who fell backward 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 had dropped into coverage on the zone blitz.

Brisker was flagged for hitting Rattler in the head, however, 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 dived in front of wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. One play 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.’’