Four takeaways. Four sacks. 44 rushing yards allowed. A fourth straight win.
"Four is the magic number right now," cornerback Nahshon Wright said.
In each of those four victories, the Bears defense has dominated the turnover battle and recorded at least three takeaways, but in Sunday's 26-14 defeat of the Saints at Soldier Field, the unit was dominant at all three levels.
Still, the Bears defense and coordinator Dennis Allen, who received a game ball from coach Ben Johnson in the postgame locker room celebration after facing his former team, are far from satisfied.
"Four ain't enough," Allen told the locker room.
Another occurrence in the series of "fours" that showed up Sunday was the defense once again turning their opponent over on their opening possession.
Two minutes into the game and two plays into New Orleans' first drive, defensive end Montez Sweat chased down Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler and jarred the ball loose. Tackle Gervon Dexter Sr., who recovered the fumble, chalked the play up to "Montez just being Montez."
"When you're out there, you're just kind of going," Sweat told ChicagoBears.com. "I knew the quarterback was gonna try to find his way out. He's a running guy. So, I just saw him try to get out of the pocket, and I found him. I just went after the ball, and it came out."
The strip sack marked the fourth consecutive game in which the Bears opponent's first drive of the game ended in an interception, fumble lost or turnover on downs — a feat that hasn't been accomplished in the NFL since 2017 (Rams). And it's the Bears' first time doing so since 1987.
Those early takeaways have proved to be a winning recipe for the Bears, who now lead the NFL with 16.
"It's just us starting fast, and we're taking pride in doing that," linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "We don't want to come out there and just build into the game. We wanna go out there and set it on our own terms."
Sweat's strip sack came just six days after he forced a fumble against the Commanders in last Monday night's victory, making him the first Bears defender to register a forced fumble in consecutive games since 2022. The seventh-year veteran also posted his best stat line of the season with four tackles, two tackles-for-loss, two quarterback hits, one sack and one key fourth-down stop.
"Tez is Tez," Edwards said. "He's gonna go out there and make plays. It's just getting teams to these down and distances where we can just let those guys go. They'll do what they do, and good things will happen. I think the more we can do that, the more we'll see those things show up."
The next three takeaways came in the form of interceptions courtesy of Wright, safety Kevin Byard III and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, giving all three levels of the defense a hand in the takeaway department Sunday.
Byard said after the game that the defense's proficiency in taking the ball away is unlike anything he's experienced in his 10-year NFL career.
"[We're] just playing with a lot of confidence," Byard said. "I've said it before, but the ball has been on our mind. Al (Harris) is some type of character from the Bible or something — he's been prophesying. Before the game last night, I asked him, 'What's the quota?' and he said 'four.' And we got four again. So that's just the belief in us to be able to go get it.
"DA obviously put us in a position to make those plays, but it's special right now. I mean, I'm not gonna make it seem like this has happened before or [something] I've ever been a part of. But we just gotta keep it rolling and if that's what we need to do to win games, that's what we're gonna do."
Wright's second interception of the season — a new career high for the fifth-year pro — came on third-and-9 with 11:20 left in the second quarter. Rattler dropped back and fired over the middle toward Chris Olave, but Wright dove in front of the New Orleans receiver to pick the ball off. He immediately popped up and returned the ball 38 yards, which he credited to his days as a receiver, despite having not played the position since 2018.
Still, Wright was slightly disappointed he didn't turn the interception into a pick-six.
"We preach get the ball to the near numbers, and luckily, [Jaquan] Brisker ran into me, because I was getting ready to cut across the field, and then from there, just try to make people miss," Wright said. "If I knew where I was at on the sideline, I would have scored."
Up next on the interception carousel was Byard. On first-and-10 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter, Rattler faced pressure and scrambled to his left before uncorking a deep ball intended for the speedy Rashid Shaheed as he was hit by Brisker. Back in coverage, Byard chased down the throw and picked the ball off while staying in bounds just inside the left sideline.
When asked which defensive play was most impressive Sunday, Brisker stated: "KB's interception on the sideline. Him getting his two feet in and the balance was amazing."
Byard's fourth pick of the season not only leads the Bears, but is also tied for the most by any player in the NFL. Now up to 33 career interceptions, he also has the most by any player in the NFL since entering the league in 2016.
Like Byard, Edmunds also leads his position group. The veteran linebacker secured his second interception of the season Sunday, hauling in a tipped pass by Edwards to ice the game with 4:29 remaining in the game. Edmunds' eight interceptions since joining the Bears in 2023 lead all NFL linebackers and his 13 career INTs since entering the NFL in 2018 lead the league.
To be able to finish the game on their own terms, rather than on a last-second kick like their previous two victories in Las Vegas and Washington, felt even more satisfying for the Bears. Doing so in front of the home crowd that embraced the elements on a wet and windy day at Soldier Field felt even sweeter.
"We always talk about tips and overthrows — we gotta get those," Edmunds said. "T.J. made a good play, I was able to find the ball, and we were able to finish with a little bit of momentum. It felt good to end it like that. The fans came out and showed out. I know at the beginning of the game, the weather was a little iffy, but our fans always come out and show us love no matter what the conditions may be."
Riding a four-game winning streak and leading the NFL in takeaways, including a league-high 11 interceptions, the Bears defense is finding new ways to impress each week.
With 11 weeks remaining in the regular season, however, the defense is consistently looking for further improvement and success. After the game, group was echoing Allen's message: four isn't enough.
"It's a great feeling, [but] I don't think any of us are satisfied with the four wins," Byard said. "We know as a team that we're not playing our best football. Ten penalties is too many penalties. Those two drives, one at the end of the half, and then one right after the half, that's unacceptable for us on defense, but just the resiliency to be able to battle back and kind of stay poised within those moments in the battle back, and obviously not let them score again, is huge for us.
"But we're just scratching the surface. There's a lot of things to clean up, but like I said, we're finding ways to win games."
