JP's Postgame Presser - Bears vs. Jets

Posted 5:57 PM September 23, 2014 by Jarrett Payton

Winning the turnover battle is one of the keys to success in the NFL. Statistics show that in the NFL, teams with positive turnover ratio have a significantly higher probability of winning. The Bears defense came out of Monday night’s game plus 2 and even more importantly turned the takeaways into points. Starting off the 1st defensive series with a Ryan Mundy pick 6 was a great base for the Bears offense to build on. Then Ahmad Dixon jumped on Jalen Saunders’ muffed punt at the NYJ 40 to set up the second score off of a takeaway.

After the season opener loss to the Bills a lot of people thought the Bears could be 0-3 after 3 games. Oh how things can change. Going up versus the two-headed monster of Chris Ivory and Chris Johnson the Bears run defense held the Jets to 114 yard on 26 attempts. Coming into Monday’s game the Jets were the number 1 rushing offense averaging 179 yards. The Bears are improving on Defense even with further injuries; we will need to keep an eye on the injuries to Chris Conte and Ryan Mundy. The defensive coaches deserve a lot of Credit right now for getting young guys like Brock Vereen, Ahmad Dixon, Will Sutton and Ego Ferguson ready to play. This Bears defense keeps showing me that you can’t make excuses when injuries happen, you have to dig deep and find a way. For all the young guys on D…it’s you time to shine.

The Bears offense was not outstanding, but they got the job done. Jay Cutler finished the night going 23 of 38 for 225 yards and 2 TD’s. The stat that sticks out the most is the goose egg in the INT column. When Jay protects football through the air the Bears have the ability to fly high. Good news for Cutler and Bears fans that Alshon Jeffery’s hamstring seems like it is not bothering him. Last week Jeffrey hobbled around at times, but he looked like he was back to his old self soaring for 105 yards on 8 receptions. I wonder if Antonio Allen has anything to say now?

With most of the attention on Brandon Marshall and Jeffery, it left the middle of the field open for Martellus Bennett to capitalize. Bennett ended the night with 5 receptions for 54 yards and two TD’s. The Bears running game is still missing, but when it was called on Matt Forte had some important carries that kept drives going. Forte finished the night with 33 yards on 13 carries.

I understand the Bears are winning with their pass first offense, but as the season moves on they will have to rely on the ground game. The O-line went up against a strong front 7 and gave up 4 sacks. With all the different blitzes, coverage and shifts I think that it was still an above average performance. The Bears were 7 for 15 on third downs, a much-needed improvement from last week only converting 3 of 9 against 49ers. #TheAirAndWatershow can only be stopped by the limitations they put on themselves.

X Factors

Martellus Bennett

Bennett is continuing to be a defenses worse nightmare! He is a match up problem for LBs across the NFL. Don’t let the big frame fool you, he can run routes like a wide out and get up field and make moves like a RB. The one thing that stands out about Martellus is his ability to spark the offense when it is becoming stagnate. He is just what the doc orders at critical points in the game.

Ryan Mundy

Mundy got the game started off right. He picked off Gino Smith in the second play of the first series and took it to the house for 6. You have to love how he plays football. The safety position has been a main concern the last few years but Mundy has shown he can be a difference maker on the back end of the Bears defense.

Kyle Fuller

Fuller gets another pick when the Bears needed it most. Fuller is becoming a house hold name here in Chicago. He is a smart football player who is going to get better with more games under his belt.

Injury Report

FB Tony Fiammetta (hamstring), safety Chris Conte (left shoulder) and safety Ryan Mundy (stinger)

Last Question

Are you happy with where the Bears are heading into week 4?

Yes I’m happy with where the Bears are heading into week 4 vs Green Bay. I’ve seen growth in a team that had their back up against a wall, suffered key injuries to key players; however they seem to never give up. Can all this last with so many injuries? I’m not sure, but why not keep riding this Jet stream into next week’s divisional match up against the Pack.

The special teams decided to be special for once last night coming up with a turnover on the Jalen Saunders’ muffed punt. I still need to see more out of Joe Decamillis’s group as we move forward. Offensively I would like to get Matt Forte more involved in the offense. Forte is one of the best Swiss army knives in the NFL. I would like to see him not just in the backfield, but in the slot manned up with LB’s that can cover him. FIND A WAY TO GET HIM THE ROCK!

It will be interesting to see how this defense will look headed into Sunday with all the injuries. The one thing that I have learned from the game of football is you can’t look back. You can only focus looking ahead with blinders on. This Bears team might be losing guys to injuries, but it is grown in heart and grit. Bears fan should be flying high after last night’s win. Once the Bears touched back down in Chicago the process starts all over, time to jet set to the next opponent. That opponent just happens to be the Green Bay Packer, fasten your seat belt and put your tray table up, this should be a good one.