KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Bears defense that insisted it was unbothered by the turbulence of defensive coordinator Alan Williams’ sudden and curious resignation and focused solely on the Chiefs looked like it had its mind somewhere else in a 41-10 loss to the Chiefs on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bears allowed 456 yards to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ rejuvenated offense — including 312 yards in falling behind 34-0 in an ugly first half that has been a fireable offense for previous Bears coaches. It was that bad.
“There’s conversations and everything [about Williams departure],” Bears defensive end DeMarcus Walker said, “but me personally, I could give a rat’s ass. We’re not the Kardashians. We’re able to get on the field and line up and play. That’s all that matters.”
That, unfortunately, leaves only one other explanation — this defense isn’t very good. After two disappointing games to open the regular season following a spirited training camp under coach Matt Eberflus, Bears defensive players said it was just a matter of time. But now it looks like the harder they try, the worse they get.
“As a defense, I feel like we believed in coach Flus and his plan and we just didn’t execute coach Flus’ plan,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “We really didn’t flinch. All the distractions — we’re going to have distractions. We’re the Chicago Bears. Everybody’s going to have something to say.
“We just have to execute coach Flus’ plan. It’s about execution. We weren’t distracted. We had a great week of energy. We had a lot of [takeaways] in practice. We just have to take it to the game.”
If the Williams saga wasn’t the problem, facing Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense after starting 0-2 was a bigger problem than they anticipated.
Mahomes didn’t even have to be extreme-Mahomes to make this a rout early. The two-time league MVP was 24-for-33 for 272 yards with three touchdowns for a 127.3 passer rating.
“Players make good plays. We’ve got to make more,” Walker said. “He still had to move and maneuver. The biggest thing was keeping Pat in the pocket, because when he scrambles to his right, he’s more lethal. That was the biggest emphasis this week. And he took advantage of that.”
Walker called it “a reality check — for all three phases.” Brisker, the second-year safety with a bright future amid the dismal start, acknowledged “we just got smacked in the face” three weeks in a row.
But even with the losses piling up, they’re programmed to stay resolved to get this thing fixed. Nobody feels that quite like Brisker.
“I’m always going to have confidence,” he said. “I’m a great player. And I’m gonna lead this defense, this team to wins. There’s no confidence [drain at] 0-3. There’s 14 more games left, so I’m not worried about that.”
How does he plan to do that?
“Just keep the guys going. Keep talking to them. Keep their confidence up. My plan, my energy, my passion is gonna help this team. As long as I continue to do that day-in and day-out, I’m going to bring at least one person with me every single day.”
Eberflus focuses on practice to get better, but it’s going to take more than that.
“Chemistry,” Walker said. “The biggest thing is chemistry. There’s only so much work you can do. Now it’s about everybody being on one page.”
How does that happen? “Coach trusts the players. Players trust the coaches,” Walker said. “But it’s gotta be 50-50. It can’t be 60-40 or 70-30. Everybody has to be on the same page.”
That led to an even bigger question. Does this team trust its coaches?
“We have no other choice,” Walker said. “Of course we do. I thought Flus called a good game last week. He’s dialing it up. Now it’s just getting that chemistry and having everyone on the same page.”
