With star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on the sideline on third-and-10 late in the first half Monday night against the Seahawks, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen blitzed slot cornerback Kyler Gordon as his fifth pass rusher.
No one touched quarterback Sam Darnold, however, and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba dusted cornerback Tyrique Stevenson on a slant-and-go for a 43-yard touchdown.
‘‘When it doesn’t work out, you kind of wish you had it back,’’ Allen said. ‘‘And yet we’re going big-game hunting.’’
That mindset worked through seven weeks, when the Bears blitzed a whopping 40% of the time and pressured the quarterback 35% of the time, according to TruMedia.
The addition of Simmons, however, means Allen doesn’t have to blitz out of necessity anymore. He blitzed only 15% of the time against the Seahawks and got pressure on the quarterback 36% of the time — more than the Bears did bringing five or more defenders in Weeks 1-7.
That change in the Bears’ defensive strengths makes for a compelling question starting Sunday night against the Buccaneers: Are the Bears done blitzing?
‘‘When a defensive coordinator blitzes a lot in a football game,’’ Simmons said, ‘‘we’re not doing our job up front.’’
Blitzing makes sense if defensive linemen aren’t winning their one-on-one matchups, Simmons said. But the Bears gave up two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder for Simmons for him to win against double-teams and so Montez Sweat, Austin Booker and Grady Jarrett can try to win one-on-one.
‘‘If we can rush with four, if we can stop the run with four, it’s going to be great for the defense,’’ Simmons said. ‘‘It’s always been my thing: The game is always going to be won up front. If we can do it with four, sometimes five, it’d be great.’’
Gordon is No. 5. He has four sacks in five games. And he’s looking forward to Simmons taking away attention from everyone else.
‘‘That’s why I want to keep blitzing,’’ he said.
When the Bears didn’t add any big-name edge rushers during the offseason, then watched Dayo Odeyingbo go to injured reserve and Sweat get suspended for drug use, Allen had to get creative. His exotic blitzes made the Bears the best third-down defense in the NFL.
The Bucs will try to stay out of third-and-long situations. They’ve handed the ball off 48.1% of the time, the most in the NFL, aided by a monsoon last week in which quarterback Baker Mayfield didn’t complete a pass after completing only seven the week before. The Bucs won the two games by a combined 46 points.
‘‘I’ve been in games where you’re sitting back and trying to play defensive mode,’’ Allen said. ‘‘And that just doesn’t really suit me. Nor do I think it suits us.’’
That creativity won’t stop now; it’s just a matter of which form it takes. Aggressiveness might mean blurring coverages at the line of scrimmage or, as Allen did against the Seahawks, moving Simmons from tackle to end on obvious passing downs.
And, yes, blitzing — although not as often.
‘‘You’re never stealing second with your foot sitting there on first base,’’ Allen said. ‘‘You have to be aggressive, you have to be confident and you have to try to dictate the terms to the offense.’’
Having Simmons, however, allows the Bears to wait for a three-run home run.
‘‘He does,’’ Allen said. ‘‘He presents a physical presence on the inside of our defense, run and pass, and that’s a good feeling to have.’’