When Bears coach Matt Eberflus was asked if he’s going to miss DeForest Buckner on Sunday, he was either playing coy or wouldn’t say.
“DeForest is a wonderful, wonderful human being,” Eberflus said. “Great family man. And a really good player. He’s been All-Pro. He’s been Pro Bowl — all those things. He’s a dynamic player, so I wish him the best. Hopefully he heals up fast.”
Truth be told, that Buckner is not playing against the Bears on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium after being put on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain is a big break for the Bears. Nobody knows just how big more than Eberflus.
When Eberflus was the Colts’ defensive coordinator, Buckner was the all-important 3-technique — the destructive “engine” that wreaked havoc on opponents’ offensive line and backfield and made that defense work best.
Acquired in a trade with the 49ers for a first-round draft pick, Buckner had 9 1/2 sacks and 26 quarterback hits in 2020 as the Colts improved from 18th to 10th in points allowed and 16th to eighth in yards allowed.
In the one game Buckner missed in the two years he played for Eberflus — against the Titans in 2020 while on the COVID-19 list — Derrick Henry rushed for 178 yards and three touchdowns, and the Colts’ defense allowed 38 points in a 45-26 loss at Lucas Oil Stadium. Two weeks earlier, with Buckner, the Colts’ held Henry to 103 yards and no touchdowns and the Titans to 17 points in a 35-17 Colts victory in Nashville.
That’s the difference a 3-technique can make in this defense.
After thriving with such an impactful player at the key position in his defense with the Colts, it figured that the Bears would follow that model. They’re still looking for their DeForest Buckner but are seeing signs of progress in Gervon Dexter, the 2023 second-round draft pick from Florida.
The 6-6, 312-pound Dexter had an encouraging rookie season that ended with the arrow pointing up, but not exactly toward Buckner-level stardom — 2 1/2 sacks and 12 quarterback hits in 432 snaps (40% of the Bears’ defensive snaps).
But Dexter underwent a “transformation” — as defensive end Montez Sweat called it — in the offseason, dedicating himself to getting in the best shape possible to take the all-important second step.
He changed his diet to become leaner. He did the pre-training camp conditioning test with the defensive ends. Dexter came back “a changed man,” safety Jaquan Brisker said.
He’s already seeing results on the field. Dexter has a sack in each of the first two games. He’s playing 68% of the defensive snaps.
“He’s more confident in what we’re doing,” defensive line coach Travis Smith said. “He’s taking over a leadership role — not so much in what he says, but how prideful he is in the way he rushes. Not only how he competes in our own room, he’s competing versus the rest of the league, as well.
Dexter has an eye on Jalen Carter, the “generational” defensive tackle drafted 10th overall in 2023 by the Eagles — after the Bears passed on him for character concerns. And Calijah Kancey, who was drafted 19th overall by the Buccaneers.
“I would say these guys are all completely even,” Smith said. “They know each other, so there is a competitiveness. He wants to prove people wrong that passed on him — people that might have said, ‘He’s just a read-and-react type guy’ at Florida.
“He’s got ambitions and goals himself that he wants to achieve. He’s trying to make sure that he’s setting the standard and other people are watching him [and saying], ‘Oh, that’s how you play the position.’ ”