The Bears have officially taken over the NFL's interception leaderboard after Sunday's 19-17 win in Minnesota.
Sitting atop the list with five INTs is veteran safety Kevin Byard III, who looks like he's aging backwards on the field. The captain — who secured the first of the Bears' two interceptions of Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy — is on track for a career year. He's on pace to finish the regular season with 8.5 interceptions, which would surpass his career-high of eight in 2017, his second season in the league.
Just below Byard are cornerback Nahshon Wright and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who are tied with Jacksonville linebacker Devin Lloyd with four interceptions each. Edmunds has tied his career high, previously recording four picks in 2023, his first season with the Bears.
But for Wright, who made arguably the most athletic play of the game Sunday, this is new territory. Before this year, he had recorded just one career interception through four NFL seasons. When he signed with the Bears April 8 after being cut by the Vikings the previous day, Wright was expected to fill a backup role until Pro Bowl corner Jaylon Johnson suffered a groin injury this summer and a different groin injury Week 2 in Detroit. On Sunday, he served as the Bears' rotating game captain.
"He wasn't slated to be a starter this year," Byard said of Wright. "To come in and play as well as he has, that's the beauty of this business. We always talk about next-man-up mentality."
The Bears are now the first team since the 2011 Packers to have three players with at least four interceptions through their first 10 games. It also marks the first time the Bears have accomplished such a feat since Wilber Marshall, Gary Fencik and Dave Duerson did so for the Super Bowl XX champions in 1985.
Dating back to training camp this summer, coordinator Dennis Allen and the Bears defense have emphasized the value of takeaways, taking time each week to finetune their ballhawking skills in practice and dive deep into film study on their opponents' tendencies. The group's ability to preach and execute has led them to a league-leading 22 takeaways, 15 interceptions and +16 turnover differential — which also wouldn't be possible without quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense protecting the ball as well as they have.
In what ended up being a close game Sunday in Minneapolis, the Bears' +2 turnover differential was needed.
"We just noticed that when we win games, even close ones, it starts with us," cornerback Tyrique Stevenson said. "Every [game] we come in [and our goal is] four, so the fact that we go out there and could get two … we left a couple out there, but when we take the ball away, I feel like this team gets the momentum to go out there and finish games like this."
The Bears' two interceptions at U.S. Bank Stadium occurred on back-to-back defensive possessions late in the first half and likely caused a 10-point swing.
With 3:45 on the clock in the second quarter, McCarthy faked a handoff and dropped back before stepping up in the pocket and firing a ball intended for All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson. With Wright in tight coverage on Jefferson, Byard, who was in zone coverage on the play, read McCarthy's eyes, drifted back and snagged the ball out of the air, returning it 23 yards to the Minnesota 25. Four players later, kicker Cairo Santos hit a 38-yard field goal to put the Bears up 10-3.
"Honestly, just taking care of my coverage first but then at that point, get my eyes on the QB," Byard said. "Understanding that they were doing a lot of two-man routes when they were in '21' personnel with the fullback and the two tight ends. It was basically either run or play-action, two-man routes, so I knew I had my guy covered and at that point, it's just reading the quarterback's eyes and making a play."
When the Vikings got the ball back, they marched into into Bears territory when McCarthy and Jefferson connected for 27 yards. On first down from the Chicago 30, McCarthy took another deep shot, this time intended for receiver Jordan Addison in the left corner of the end zone.
Wright, who had inside leverage on Addison, high-pointed the ball to make an acrobatic leaping interception. In the moment, Wright's thought process was straightforward: "just go up there and make the play."
The athleticism he displayed on that pick was anything but ordinary, and it has Byard slightly worried about Wright coming for his takeaway title.
"I mean he was looking like lob city up there," Byard joked, "really going up, 6-foot-4, stretching to make a play like that. And that's stealing points away from them. We win by a field goal, but you think about his interception, my interception. We got a field goal off my interception and took away points off his, so it was a big play in the game."
In the aftermath of Wright's interception, his emotions from the past week poured out. Last Friday, Wright's former junior college coach, John Beam, passed away after being shot on Laney College's campus the day prior. Beam coached both Wright and his brother, Rejzhon, a cornerback for the Saints. Nahshon and Rejzhon viewed Beam as a father figure.
"He meant the world to me," Wright said. "When my dad was killed, he came to my house and got me out of the bed. He was someone I could confide in, someone that I just love dearly. We talked once a week, easily.
"He did a lot for me and my brother and my family. He's been there. He's been there every step of the way, and it won't stop. I gained an angel."
Wright took a knee in the back of the end zone Sunday after his interception and was immediately surrounded by Byard, safety Jaquan Brisker and linebacker Noah Sewell before heading to the sideline and being embraced by coach Al Harris.
Wright plans to give the intercepted football to Beam's family.
"He was watching over me," Wright said. "It's crazy. He called me the night before he passed and he told me that every game he watched, I just seemed to get a pick. So I just know he was behind me today."
