Staley Da Bear
Well-known member
- Mar 16, 2019
- 2,085
- 0
A week earlier in Detroit, the defense kept the Lions from scoring a go-ahead touchdown on the final three plays of the game from the Bears' 16. On the penultimate play, rookie running back D'Andre Swift dropped a sure touchdown pass.
Sunday's win likely won't inspire the theatrics from NFL Films that the Bears' Week 1 victory undoubtedly deserved. But all that matters is that they're 2-0 for the first time since 2013.
"The way that ended, the guys are tired, and the way it went with scoring no points in the second half, it certainly doesn't feel as exciting as it was last week when we won with a comeback and scoring all of our points in the fourth quarter," said coach Matt Nagy.
"But I also told our guys, 'Now listen, it is not easy to win in this league—I don't care who you're playing—and we're 2-0.' So what we've got to do now is we've got to go back and we've got to balance out, 'OK, where are we at as a team right now? Do we like our identity: offense, defense, special teams? How can we get better?' And that's what we'll do. I have all the confidence in the world with our coaches and then the players, they'll criticize themselves, too."
Veteran defensive tackle Akiem Hicks knows that corrections need to be made, but Sunday's win left a great taste in his mouth.
"I don't care how you get it, 2-0 is delicious," Hicks said. "I'll eat that every day of the week and twice on Sunday. There's bumps in the road during the course of the game and you've got to be able to pick yourself back up and keep fighting."
That's exactly what the Bears defense did Sunday. After holding the Giants scoreless and generating two takeaways in the first half, the unit allowed one touchdown and two field goals on three possessions bridging the second and third quarters.
But the defense ultimately kept the Giants out of the end zone when it mattered most, capping a performance that was a vast improvement over last Sunday. After allowing 23 points and 426 yards to the Lions, the Bears held the Giants to 13 points and 295 yards.
"For [the defense] to keep [the Giants] where they were, with 13 total points in this game and getting those turnovers, and then playing pretty well this game, you've got to be pretty happy with that," Nagy said. "I'm happy with them. We can always play better. Our guys always expect a lot … It does take a little bit of time as you start kind of creating who you are. But the only thing that matters right now is the 2-0 [record], and then we've just got to make sure that any area we can, we just keep getting better at it."