Chicago Bears notes: Defense falters late, Alex Leatherwood sees first action

CHICAGO – The Bears registered zero quarterback hits on Aaron Rodgers.

It’s something the Bears have been lacking against every quarterback the defensive line has faced this season. In the last three games, the Bears have generated four QB hits.

“Personally, I was brought here for a reason: pass rush, and I feel like I’m not holding up that end,” rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson said following the Bears’ 28-19 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. “I’ve got to get better on my end. We haven’t been getting to the quarterback enough.”

Through 12 games, the Bears defense has just 14 quarterback knockdowns, which ranks last in the league. They’re tied for last with 16 sacks and are last in knockdowns per pass attempt percentage (4.3%).

“We have the opportunity sometimes, but [a] quarterback is getting the ball out a little fast, so it’s hard,” Robinson said. “But, when those opportunities do arrive where he is back there ... I always [feel like I] could’ve gotten [there] after the fact, but I’ve just got to be better doing it during [the game].”

Putting aside quarterback hits, defensive end Trevis Gipson believes “we got to stop the run first.”

The Packers generated 175 rushing yards and averaged 5.5 per carry Sunday.

“We stop the run, that gives us more opportunities,” Gipson said. “[Rodgers] is back there patting the ball and we’ve got to keep rushing him and being relentless, playing forward as one. We’re getting him in good positions.”

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Banged up secondary: The Bears’ secondary played surprisingly well without several regular starters. Safety Eddie Jackson (foot), safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion), cornerback Kyler Gordon (concussion) and cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle) were all unavailable Sunday.

Instead, DeAndre Houston-Carson and Eljiah Hicks started at safety, and Jaylon Jones started at cornerback alongside regular starter Jaylon Johnson. Rookie cornerback Josh Blackwell was the fifth defensive back in sub-packages.

Still, that group held Rodgers to 182 passing yards and one touchdown.

“We really played our game,” Houston-Carson said. “They got a couple plays here and there, but I think we played as hard as we could.”

Leatherwood sees first action: Offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood rotated in at right tackle with starter Riley Reiff. It marked Leatherwood’s first snaps of the season.

Leatherwood has been working behind the scenes ever since the Bears claimed him off waivers in late August. He was a first-round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021, but the Raiders cut him at the end of training camp this year.

This week, Leatherwood told Shaw Local that he was using the past three months to “tune everything out and just focus on me.”

Reiff entered the week with a back injury and missed some practice time before returning to action Friday. Backup right tackle Larry Borom was out with an ankle injury. That meant Leatherwood was the starter in practice early in the week.

Even with Reiff back, the Bears thought it was a good time to get Leatherwood some reps.

“We’re going to rotate [Leatherwood] in there,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “We want to get him some work in there. Riley was out early in the week. Get him back and Leatherwood did a nice job in there.”

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Missed field goal proves costly: The Bears were leading by two points in the fourth quarter and driving toward the red zone when the play calling became conservative. On third-and-5 at the 23-yard line, they handed of to running back David Montgomery, who gained just one yard.

A field goal at that point would’ve meant the Packers needed a touchdown, rather than a field goal, but Cairo Santos’ 40-yard try was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Packers defensive lineman Dean Lowry.

Bears left tackle Braxton Jones, who was blocking Lowry on the play, took the blame for the blocked kick.

“I had bad pad level,” Jones said. “I think I did a good job of stopping the pressure, but my pad level led to him being able to get a hand up. Tipped it.”

The Packers followed the blocked field goal with a field goal drive of their own to take the lead. Santos also missed an extra point during the game.