The man who led both the Bears and Commanders in sacks last season has yet to post one this season.
In 60 pass rush snaps, Bears defensive end Montez Sweat has a mere seven hurries. Pro Football Focus ranks him their No. 43 edge rusher this season. Their pass-rush productivity metric ranks him 69th among all edge rushers in a league where there are only 64 starters.
“He’s going to get there,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said this week. “I mean, he has the talent and the mindset and the intelligence to get there. … He knows how to get to the quarterback and to end the play with a sack fumble, and so those things will happen for him, and they will happen in bunches.”
Until then, Washington said he’s been pleased with the impact Sweat has had on his teammates. As a team, the Bears have the highest pass rush win rate in the league, per ESPN, with defensive tackles DeMarcus Walker, Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter all in the top 5 in the NFL. Defensive end Darrell Taylor, who plays opposite Sweat, is sixth among edge rushers.
Sweat, though, is their highest-paid player this season, with a $25.1 million salary cap hit. Only one edge rusher in the league, the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby, makes more.
With that money comes expectations.
“Of course, I want sacks and all that type of stuff,” Sweat said, “but as long as we’re performing well as a defense, I think everything else will fall into place.”
Sometimes, defensive line coach Travis Smith said, Sweat has been beaten to the quarterback by his own teammates. In the film room, he’ll argue jokingly that the quarterback should have been his.
“There have been a couple guys with a good pass rush win rate — obviously, he wants his too,” Smith said. “So he has to keep trucking, keep rushing, keep fighting to get to that X. And the bottom line is you have to beat our other guys there too. It’s a race to the X, a race to the quarterback.”
The attention Sweat has drawn from opposing blockers — often multiple ones — has helped his teammates. Sweat understands what’s coming — “I’d double me, too,” he said — and he’s trying not to be frustrated. Sweat is “still demanding a lot of attention down there and him still affecting the quarterback,” safety Jaquan Brisker said.
“I expect him to never stall,” Washington said. “We don’t count how many blockers we have accumulated.”
Before the season, Sweat was considered the line’s only sure thing. Now the Bears are left wondering what their line will look like when Sweat starts getting to the quarterback.
He’ll be needed Sunday in Indianapolis, where the Bears will try to contain Anthony Richardson, who is interception-prone but also one of the league’s best running quarterbacks. The Colts offensive line has held up well against pass rushers this season. They’re tied for eighth in pass block win rate. Only five teams have allowed fewer than the three sacks the Colts have given up this season.
Sweat has gone the last five games without a sack — he didn’t have one in Weeks 16-18 last year. That’s tied for the longest drought in his career.
The Bears are pleased with his play — “How we grade it all, he’s doing a really good job,” Smith said — but they know he needs production.
“What’s for me is for me,” Sweat said. “When that happens, I’ll be happy.”
The Bears say it’s coming.
“It’s just a matter of time,” Washington said.