Bears coach Matt Eberflus is never going to let you see him sweat. But when he said he had no worries about going into last week’s game against the Jaguars with backups Elijah Hicks and Jaylon Jones replacing safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson — both out with injuries — he meant it.
“I said it prior to the game — those guys were going to step up and do a really good job, and they did,” Eberflus said. “It’s because they’ve been in our system. They know the position. They know how we operate. They know the fundamentals of our system. And to plug and play those guys, it wasn’t that big of a step for them.”
A Bears’ defense that is living up to its goal of being one of the top five in the NFL has reached the plug-and-play level, where supporting players such as defensive end Darrell Taylor and linebacker Jack Sanborn or back-ups such as Hicks, Jones and cornerback Josh Blackwell don’t just hold their own, they make plays.
Against the Jaguars, Jones led the Bears with 10 tackles and Hicks had a pass break-up in the end zone and a fumble recovery. And when starting slot cornerback Kyler Gordon left in the thrid qurater with a hamstring injury, Blackwell came in and had an interception that helped clinch the 35-16 victory.
“You never want to see your guys leave the game, but when the opportunity presents itself, you gotta make the most of your opportunity. It’s the name of the game,” said Blackwell, a 2022 undrafted free agent from Duke. “I’m appreciative that I got the opportunity, that they trusted me to go in, and I made the most of it.”
As Blackwell noted, “we’ve done that before.” He, Jones and Hickes were starters in 2022 against the Packers, when the Bears held Aaron Rodgers to 182 passing yards and an 85.7 passer rating in a 28-19 Packers victory.
Hicks (nine), Jones (five) and Blackwell (one) have started 15 games in their two-plus seasons. Cornerback Terell Smith, a 2023 fifth-round draft pick, also has played well in spot duty, but has missed the last three games with a hip injury.
“I think it says a lot about our depth,” Blackwell said. “That’s what’s so special about guys like us. We’ve got a whole bunch of guys that could be starters at other places, so I think it’s special when you have a group of guys that can come together and know their role and make the most of it.”
It’s not known if Hicks, Jones and Blackwell will be needed Sunday when the degree of difficulty ramps up against the Commanders, who lead the NFL in scoring (31.1 points per game) and are fourth in yards (384.1 per game).
Eberflus said Monday he was hopeful that Brisker (concussion), Stevenson (calf) and Gordon might play against the Commanders.
Brisker remains in concussion protocol, but is progressing. “He’s still got a couple steps to go, but it looks good” Eberflus said.
Gordon is “working through his hamstring.” And Stevenson was on the practice field Monday during the team’s walk-through.
The Bears don’t want to play without Brisker, Gordon and Stevenson for too long, especially against top-10 offenses. But Eberflus is confident in his back-ups, with a nod to defensive passing game coordinator Jon Hoke (“The best corner coach in the league,” Eberflus said.), safeties coach Andre Curtis (“The best safeties coach in the league”) and nickel cornerbacks coach David Overstreet.
“They prepare us well in practice,” Blackwell said. “We know when our number’s called, you do what yiou know how to do.”
Players like Blackwell are conditioned to “practice like you’re the starter.” These guys play like it.
“We know we can play. We definitely think we’re starters,” Blackwell said. “We’re starters behind the starters.”