Jaylon Johnson knew it was coming. When the decision got here in from Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams, Johnson felt a surge of pleasure.
“I was juiced,” the Bears cornerback stated. “It was like, ‘If we do what we’re supposed to here, we’re creating a turnover.’”
Safety Eddie Jackson had the same feeling. He acknowledged the formation the San Francisco 49ers had been in on third-and-5 early within the fourth quarter — with receivers Jauan Jennings and Deebo Samuel bunched collectively simply exterior the left hash marks — and knew an enormous second had arrived.
“It was the perfect call,” Jackson stated. “Just make sure you’re in the right spot, looking and keying on the right things.”
If we’ve realized something in regards to the 2022 Bears over the previous 4 or 5 months, it’s that they’re hellbent on turning into a staff that feeds off effort and preparation. And early within the fourth quarter Sunday at Soldier Field, the protection’s focus paid main dividends.
With Johnson and Jackson locked into their assignments and in addition prepared for what their opponent was about to do, an opportunity to grab an upset introduced itself.
Johnson had a hunch Jennings would run a slant for quarterback Trey Lance and knew he might assist steer the play proper into the enamel of the decision the Bears had on — proper towards Jackson.
“It’s just me executing my leverage and trusting that Eddie is going to be there,” Johnson stated.
Jackson knew to maintain each Jennings and Lance in his imaginative and prescient, able to assault on a fast move proper in entrance of him.
Five seconds earlier than the snap, lots of the Bears defenders knew what Jackson might pull off three seconds after the snap.
“I was kind of peeking back out the corner of my eye, right back at Eddie,” rookie security Jaquan Brisker stated. “I knew he was going to get a pick.”
Sure sufficient, Lance tried the fast slant to Jennings and Jackson intervened. With a diving interception close to midfield and a 26-yard return, Jackson supplied arguably the largest play of a spirited defensive effort within the Bears’ 19-10 season-opening win.
The power of that second?
“Oh, man, it was over,” rookie move rusher Dominique Robinson stated. “That was it. Honestly, that was it.”
With a brief discipline, the offense shortly marched 21 yards for a punctuation landing, taking a two-score lead on a discipline that was turning into a pond.
“Turnover and a score? That’s huge,” Brisker stated.
Added Jackson: “I’m not going to lie to you. That felt good.”
The Bears had been forward 13-10 when Jackson made the interception — his first since Dec. 29, 2019 — however the takeaway added gas.
After a dismal first half on offense during which the Bears had been shut out, gained simply 5 first downs and didn’t full a move past the road of scrimmage, the sport turned on Justin Fields’ improvised 51-yard landing move to Dante Pettis on the Bears’ first drive of the third quarter.
It was a well timed blast of broken-play magic with Fields escaping stress, rolling to his left and lofting a move again to the fitting to Pettis, who didn’t have a 49ers defender inside two zip codes.
“That was the play that changed the momentum of the whole game,” Fields stated.
But the Bears had been hanging round at that time solely due to the stinginess of their protection, a unit that turned months of funding right into a Week 1 efficiency that included two sacks, two takeaways and a day’s value of feistiness.
The Bears held the 49ers to 3 factors after halftime, battered Lance right into a 50.3 passer score for the sport and restricted Samuel to 66 yards from scrimmage, 45 beneath his 2021 common.
The tone was set on the 49ers’ first drive, a march that chewed up 45 yards and took them contained in the crimson zone. The Bears received off the sphere with a turnover when Brisker put an enormous hit on Samuel and Johnson fought off a block and used his left fist to dislodge the soccer.
“I knew I couldn’t truly make the tackle, so I was like, ‘How can I really try to make this play?’” Johnson stated. “When he cut inside, I saw the ball and was like, ‘I might as well punch.’”
That play was the right snapshot of coach Matt Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. precept.
“If you just hang in there on defense and you keep pounding the rock, good things will happen,” Eberflus stated. “That’s what happened.”
It’s means too early to attract large conclusions from Sunday’s win, however Bears gamers had a way of some issues they realized.
“We won this game with mental and physical stamina,” Fields stated.
That’s an vital achievement for a younger, rising staff so as to add to its resume.
Added Johnson: “I honestly feel like we have the pieces. We just have to keep building in the right direction and not get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s still a lot to prove.”
While the 49ers frequently harm themselves with ill-timed penalties — 12 in all, together with three on third down that stored Bears landing drives alive — Eberflus’ staff once more performed with self-discipline and intelligence, avoiding the “That just can’t happen!” blunders that turned so frequent the previous few years.
The resolve and depth on protection via the afternoon additionally wasn’t taken without any consideration.
“H.I.T.S. principle, man,” Robinson stated. “We’re hustling.”
And what occurs when that persistent perspective and mindset turns into contagious all through the group?
“What happened today,” Robinson stated.
What occurred Sunday shocked a lot of the NFL world and allowed Eberflus to begin his Bears tenure at 1-0. But inside a joyous house locker room, the Bears felt like they set themselves up for this success — and far more.
“Man, this feels good,” Jackson stated. “Nobody is shocked inside this locker room. Everyone on the surface is far more shocked than we’re.
“We know what we’ve got. We’re going to surprise a lot of people with the way we work. No one works harder than us. And the mindset we have with what we’re building is something special.”
For the primary afternoon in an extended season, the Bears clawed for the outcome they so badly wished and generated confidence heading into Week 2.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com