LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Bears defense gave up 52 points to the Lions in Week 2. That was simply unacceptable.

A prideful group that believes it’s far better than that showing wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.

Grady Jarrett, Jaquan Brikser and Kevin Byard III decided it was time for some real talk.

Defensive leaders hit up the group chats. Players only meeting. Wednesday. Just the defenders.

There were some things to work out.

Jarrett spoke first and others followed. The main message was simple. Giving up a late lead to Minnesota and an overall brutal showing against Detroit — those situations couldn’t happen again. The hard work and preparation put in don’t reflect those results. Week 3 was the time to put the defense’s best foot forward.

“Really just getting a lot of things off our chest,” Brisker said in an interview with Marquee Sports Network. “We gave up 50 points, you know. We talkin’ about being a top-5 defense. We can’t give up 50. We just had to talk it out, get on one line and really just watch the film of the Dallas Cowboys. Just get on the same page. We did and it was amazing.”

The Bears responded with an excellent defensive effort in a 31-14 victory over Dallas, one that featured four takeaways, two sacks, seven quarterback hits and solid showings on third down and in the red zone.

Bears leadership identified a problem and fixed it with an appropriate response.

“It’s a super great feeling,” Jarrett said. “It makes you want to work even harder to turn in even better performance. That will motivate us to continue trying to get better.”

Head coach Ben Johnson said the team’s practice habits weren’t yet that of a “championship-caliber team” during the week, and the players responded with some solid work leading up to this game that made it clear to Jarrett a strong game was coming.

An excellent performance was in fact produced, but it can’t be a one-off. The Bears know they must keep improving and find ways to meet their high standards each and every week.

The meeting was about identifying a problem and stopping it quickly. Having the player leadership to do so is an important aspect of this group, which is battling without cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards.

These moments build trust within the group, a bond that will help them face adversity better than they did in the past. The 2024 Bears didn’t face challenges like this well. If Week 3 is an indication, and we won’t know without a far larger sample size, this group seems better equipped to respond well to tough times.

“If we have to come in an hour early, sacrifice an hour of sleep, then get up and come in,” Stevenson said. “It ain’t nothing to it but to do it. That’s where the trust is and making sure that we prepare to go out here and be the monster of the midway.”

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