Bears rookie cornerback Terell Smith was ready for his moment.
“I feel like the coaches did a good job of keeping us prepared,” the fifth-round draft pick from Minnesota said. “I feel like I was well-prepared. The lights didn’t feel too bright. I felt like I knew my assignments.”
And then it happened. With Russell Wilson and the Broncos taking possession at their 19-yard-line in a tie game with 2:52 left in regulation following a Bears failure on fourth-and-one, Wilson lofted a deep ball for rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims, who sped past Smith to make the catch for a 48-yard gain to the Bears 33.
Smith responded with a nice pass break-up of Wilson’s third-and-10 pass to Courtland Sutton, but it was too late. Will Lutz kicked a 51-yard field goal and the Broncos won 31-28 on Sunday at Soldier Field.
“It was a Cover-2 — a safety over the top [and] I’m in the flat,” said Smith, who was playing in place of injured cornerback Jaylon Johnson. “I gotta get more depth and just protect the whole shop.”
That was just another tale of woe on what started out as a day of rejuvenation for the Bears’ defense but ended up in disaster. The Bears held the Broncos to 129 yards on 26 plays (5.0 yards per play) in taking a 28-7 lead with 4:11 left in the third quarter.
But that’s when Wilson turned it on and the Bears’ defense turned it off. Brisker was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty on the first play of the Broncos’ next drive. Wilson completed a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and the Broncos were on their way. The Broncos gained 182 yards on 22 plays (8.3 yards per play) on their final three possessions.
With a makeshift secondary that included two rookies in cornerbacks Smith and Tyrique Stevenson and back-ups in safety Elijah Hicks and slot cornerback Greg Stroman Jr., the Bears held Wilson to 117 passing yards through three quarters (6.2 per attempt). But Wilson passed for 106 yards in the fourth quarter (11.8) to complete the rally.
On both sides of the ball, initial improvement was dashed by a collapse in the end.
“We turned over a new leaf today,” Brisker said. “We just have to finish games. The defense has to be better. Justin and the offense, they did a great job. Justin had a great game. There was a point where he was [16-for-16] until he threw that Hail Mary. Man, did [No.] 1 have a good game. Man, Khalil [Herbert] did his thing. DJ [Moore] he did his thing. [Darnell] Mooney had some great catches. I tip my hat to the offense.”
But the offensive resurgence made the defensive failures in the end that much more painful.
“Offense did a great job. Defense has to do better. I have to do better,” Brisker said. “That’s two penalties in two weeks — facemask last week [against the Chiefs]. This week a personal foul on the quarterback. Little things like that … just killed us [in] the end.”
At 0-4, the Bears remained unbowed — even players like linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards who already have lost more games this season than all of last season with the Bills and Eagles, respectively.
“Yeah, it hurts,” Edmunds said. “But tomorrow’s coming. I can sit and pout about it or I can put my head down and work — that’s the mindset moving forward. Obviously, it’s a gut-punch. But things like that happen in life. Unfortunately, it happened to us today. But we can’t run away from it. It’s in front of us and we just have to keep one foot in front of the other.”
But after four consecutive losses, they’re almost running out of answers. Asked what it takes to learn how to win, defensive end DeMarcus Walker said simply, “You have to learn how not to lose.”
Anything more?
“No,” Walker said. “Not at all.”
