On the first play of the Bengals' second drive Saturday afternoon, nickel back Kyler Gordon set the tone for the Bears defense.
Lined up a few yards behind defensive linemen Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter Sr., Gordon moved toward the middle as the ball was snapped, then cut back to his left as he saw quarterback Logan Woodside roll out to his right.
With Sweat in Woodside's face, the QB threw a quick pass to receiver Kwamie Lassiter II. Within a second, Gordon had Lassiter wrapped up in the open field for a loss of three yards.
Four plays later, coach Matt Eberflus called a nickel blitz. Gordon sprinted untouched toward the line of scrimmage and laid out Woodside for an 8-yard loss and the Bears' first sack of the day.
"It's an exciting feeling," Gordon said of hearing the nickel blitz play call. "Obviously, you want to be calm, be a master of disguise. So that's what was going through my head — surprise them, don't give it away, and sure enough the sack came."
Nine plays into the Bengals' following possession, cornerback Josh Blackwell replaced Gordon as Cincinnati approached the red zone for the first time.
Blackwell lined up on the left side of the defense — appearing to be matched up with Lassiter. But when the ball was snapped, Blackwell took off toward the backfield. Like Gordon, he went untouched as he bolted for Woodside and thought, "[I] better make the play."
The third-year pro made contact with the QB right as he went to throw, sending the ball up in the air for linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga to snatch and return 10 yards to the Chicago 26.
"We called the blitz — Kyler had the same exact blitz earlier in the game — and we disguised it well," Blackwell said. "I thought they would slide the protection to me. They didn't, I came free and you gotta make the play when the opportunity presents itself. I looked up and saw Amen catch the ball, so it was awesome."
The splash plays on back-to-back drives showcased one of the Bears defense's most valuable assets: depth.
Within the nickel back group, that consistency at every level of the depth chart manifests in the meeting rooms and on the practice field.
"Blackwell knows, everyone knows, [Greg] Stroman knows, all the nickels we have ready know — from vet to rookie — there's no drop off," Gordon said. "We hold a high standard in our room. We all get on each other and correct each other to be the best, so excellence is all we want."
In addition to Gordon and Blackwell, the cornerbacks as a whole also showed off their playmaking abilities, highlighted by second-year pro Terell Smith.
During Cincinnati's opening drive of the second half, Smith recorded the Bears' second takeaway of the day, intercepting Woodside's pass intended for receiver Cole Burgess at the Chicago 39.
"The receiver had a cut split, so I was really just thinking he was going to run a quick out or something fast, so I just played it slow at the top of the route and was able to jump it," Smith said.
Cornerback Jaylon Johnson joked that it was "about damn time" Smith recorded an interception, as the veteran has been working on those types of plays with the Minnesota product in practice.
"That was really just him being patient," Johnson said. "It's funny because I've been telling him on certain routes or certain things, 'just slow down and play downhill.' I feel like on that one he saw it, played a little slower, had a good break then intercepted the ball."
While the defensive line had a quieter outing against Cincinnati compared to last week in Buffalo when the unit recorded seven of the Bears' eight sacks in a 33-6 win over the Bills, the group's presence was still felt Saturday at Soldier Field.
Defensive end Daniel Hardy served as the unit's representative in the play-making department. He recorded a sack for a 13-yard loss in the third quarter before forcing a fumble along with safety Douglas Coleman III in the fourth quarter that was recovered by rookie defensive tackle Keith Randolph Jr.
"That's just reading your keys, like coach Travis [Smith] talks about all the time," Hardy said on the forced fumble. "You got the tight end, who's tucked in tight on the opposite side of the formation — be ready for him to come back and get a piece because when you go to hit him, if he tries to avoid you, you know there's something coming outside. So that's all it was. You get a guy running away from you on a kick out block, you know something is up."
Throughout the game's, the Bears defense fired on all cylinders no matter what personnel was on the field.
From the aggressive blitz calls to the pressure up front, the unit showed off its wealth of talent and experience at each level, which not only helped lead to a 27-3 win, but helped bring energy to the entire sideline.
"That's the greatest thing ever," Hardy said of the defense's play-making ability. "The energy is insane on the sideline. You got guys making plays, guys running down in the end zone to celebrate. It's just amazing.
"You get that swagger and the momentum and now the offense has no idea what's going on when we're hitting them from all angles. Those are the games you live for, and you get to do it with your brothers and people you build relationships with. It just makes it that much better."
