LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Tremaine Edmunds felt good about the Bears’ defensive performance in Friday’s joint practice against the Buffalo Bills.

The veteran interior linebacker said game film might expose some issues, but his initial takeaways were positive when leaving the field.

“Each time you walk off the field and you make big plays like that — game-changing plays — initially you are going to think it’s good because that’s what we play the game for, to be able to set our offense up,” Edmunds said in an afternoon press conference. “If I’m not mistaken, I know that we had a couple of takeaways; the D-line was disruptive up front. It’s a lot of good things, a lot of positives we could take away. As it always is, there are going to be some things that we need to correct, as well.”

This showing wasn’t equal to last week’s absolute defensive dominance over the Miami Dolphins, but it was a good showing against reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen and the explosive Bills offense.

I tracked those contests on Halas Hall’s Field 4, where the Bears defense roamed. Our Nicholas Moreano was next door near Field 3, and you can read about the offense in his Bears camp report, right here.

The defense got hands on the ball. Counting all three units, the Bears had two interceptions, a forced fumble and subsequent scoop-and-score, three batted balls at the line, seven pass breakups and two officially called sacks. There were also two picks negated by penalty.

That’s, you know, a lot.

The Bills, as you’d expect, had some strong moments. Let’s detail the good and the just so-so in our defensive takeaways from Friday’s joint practice with the Bills.

Bears swarming to the ball

The Bears’ defense couldn’t have started much better. Jaquan Brisker knocked down Allen’s first pass in 7-on-7s. He did the same thing on the second offering. Then, fellow safety Kevin Byard III contested a ball thrown to Dalton Kincaid, got his hands on it and then ripped it free from the Bills tight end. Allen didn’t complete a pass in that first-team period.

In the next starter’s session, Nashon Wright picked Josh Allen in the middle of the field on the first of two passes Gervon Dexter Sr. batted into the air, but officials called defensive holding.

Brisker tipped a ball during a red-zone drill that Edmunds picked in the end zone, but there was a defensive flag on that play, too.

Dexter was menace on Friday, with two batted passes, some good pressure on a stunt and tough interior run defense.

The Bears were also productive in taking the ball away on the lower units. Linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II had an interception essentially thrown to him by Bills passer Mike White in team drills.

Defensive back Alex Cook also made a head’s up play, punching the ball free after giving up a reception. Then Cook scooped up his forced fumble and scored.

Outside run defense a little leaky

The Bears defense also allowed several explosive runs, more than a few to running back James Cook on the edge. And Allen played as he’s capable at times, with a series of touchdown passes across all periods.

Former Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky was shaky overall – he split time on the second unit — but had two straight touchdown passes in a red-zone period, which was followed by a rushing score.

Bears hold on final drive

The final team period was conducted on one field, but it was a limited move-the-ball period with a set number of snaps. Neither Bills offense reached the end zone, though Allen connected on explosive plays to Kincaid and running back Ty Johnson. The quarterback read the coverage well and exploited it in both instances, but a stuffed run and an incomplete pass ended the six-snap sequence.

White didn’t do much, but Darrynton Evans had an explosive run. Bears defensive tackle Chris Williams had a called sack that essentially ended the threat and the practice day.

Now it’s on to the second preseason game against the Bills on Sunday night at Soldier Field.

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