D’Marco Jackson couldn’t help but let a smile slip through as he stood in front of his locker inside the Chicago Bears locker room at Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. He stood there, pridefully, and answered questions from reporters as if he’d waited years to talk.

Amen Ogbongbemiga couldn’t hold back his emotions, too, as he answered questions. He’d lower his voice at times as he tried to find the right words to sum up what he felt at the moment.

Neither was supposed to make a major impact this season. Much wasn’t expected out of Ogbongbemiga as Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off. But as both stood at their lockers after the Bears’ 31-28 win, there was little doubt how important their roles were that day.

The duo led the defense in total tackles as each had stepped up when their teammates needed them the most to help the Bears improve to 8-3.

“It was just special because every single guy, there wasn’t any jealousy or anything like that,” Jackson said Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field. “It was just everyone just wanted to get that win, that 1-0 feeling. Just to be out there and in the game, on defense and just feel that support and love for everybody, from coaches to the players to the support staff and everybody. It was special.”

Both Jackson and Ogbongbemiga made the most of their opportunities after the Bears played Sunday’s game without any of their starting linebackers. Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell were each ruled out ahead Friday ahead of Sunday’s kickoff. The team placed Edmunds on injured reserve on Saturday.

Jackson knew he’d be making his first career start at middle linebacker for Edmunds once the team officially ruled him out. But he had worked all week to be ready for the moment, which included being the Bears defender who received the play call in his helmet from Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

Sunday was just the second time in his career Jackson had called out the play calls. He practiced calling them out throughout the week at practices and checked in with his teammates after to make sure they understood and liked the way he communicated.

It seemed to work well. The Bears created two turnovers and Jackson led the team with 15 total tackles. He made the most of his moment he’d waited a long time to come.

“You never hope guys go down,” Jackson said. “But at the same time, like being a backup for so long, you never know when you’re when your time is gonna come. So honestly, just preparing even like weeks ahead, like weeks before this happened. Preparing like, ‘Hey, you can be that next guy up.’ So preparing just the same way, never changing or wavering with what’s going on.”

Ogbongbemiga was frustrated at the start of Sunday’s game. After missing the first eight games because of injury, Ogbongbemiga felt he had proven enough to earn a start Sunday. But Rookie Ruben Hyppolite earned the start over him at weakside linebacker.

Despite the frustrations, Ogbongbemiga didn’t have to wait long to make an impact. Hyppolite exited the game with a shoulder injury in the first quarter and Ogbongbemiga stepped in instantly.

Ogbongbemiga made some tackles during a Steelers drive in the second quarter that halted the momentum they had built. No play was bigger than when he and cornerback Nahshon Wright came together to stop the Steelers from executing a tush push on fourth down.

It was the most snaps defensive snaps Ogbongbemiga played in a game since 2020 when he played at Oklahoma State. But he finished the game with 14 tackles.

“I’m a competitor, so I was expecting to play,” Ogbongbemiga said. “And you know, when I was told I wasn’t going to be with the first team, that bothered me. I stayed down, stayed with my process and just kept going.”

Bears head coach Ben Johnson and his coaching staff were confident that different players would step up despite the team’s injury troubles. It did take some defensive adjustments to pull off.

Chicago was forced to play a bunch of dime Sunday, when the defense used six defensive backs. Safeties Jaquan Brisker and C.J. Gardner-Johnson played on the line of scrimmage at times and were forced to play like linebackers. But the Bears were confident they could make those adjustments based on what they saw at practice during the week.

“You’ve got different guys stepping up and answering that bell,” Johnson said. “That’s why the week of preparation is so important for us, too. These young players get a chance to instill confidence from the coaching staff.”

Sunday’s win was another check on how much the players believe in Johnson’s culture. The Bears were without six defensive starters in their secondary and linebacking corps, but different players stepped up to help the team win its eight games out of its last nine.

“It was just special because every single guy, there wasn’t any jealousy or anything like that. It was just everyone just wanted to get that win, that 1-0 feeling. Just to be out there and in the game, on defense and just feel that support and love for everybody, from coaches to the players to the support staff and everybody. It was special.”

—  D'Marco Jackson, Chicago Bears linebacker

It’s that top-to-bottom strong culture that Johnson has built up that’s gotten the Bears to this point. It’s allowed anyone to make an impact, no matter the odds.

“Man, we don’t blink, no matter who’s getting thrown into the fire,” Ogbongbemiga said. “You know you’re expected to hold a high standard, and every single time you’re expected to go out there and put out your best. That’s exactly what we did.”