How the Chicago Bears linebackers became the defense's most dependable unit by forming a clutch gene

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The flashiest plays by the Chicago Bears' defense have come through the air, no one can deny.

Tyrique Stevenson's pick-six and the two game-clinching interceptions by Jaylon Johnson and Jaquan Brisker directly led to two wins.

But when the Bears have truly, deeply need a play to make this season, the heart of its defense has stepped up.

"The linebacker play, I thought that would get better with the continuity there with those three players," Bears' head coach Matt Eberflus said "It has."

Through the first four weeks of the NFL season, the Bears' defense has shown it has gone from good to great.

It's the best and most consistent of the Bears' three phases, and at its center is the linebacking unit. It's a unit that has also formed a dependable clutch gene.

At the head of the unit are TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds, two free-agent signings who joined the Bears ahead of the 2023 season. The two, combined with undrafted free agent-turned-contributor Jack Sanborn, reserve and special teams ace Amen Ogbongbemiga and 2023 draft pick Noah Sewell, comprise the linebacker room.

Before the season even began, plenty of talk ruminated about the secondary and defensive line. The linebackers weren't a hot-button issue, mainly because they were playing at a high level even through the preseason. 

"They're just playing fast and physical and have a really good understanding of the defense," Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi said during training camp. "They're like coaches on the field."

That has carried over into the regular season.

In key moments during the first quarter of the season, the Bears' linebacker unit has shown how its talent and preparation can take shape on Sundays. Not only do they run the defense, but they make key plays.

"You can count on them," Bears' nickelbacks coach David Overstreet said. "Tremaine and TJ, they're going to do whatever it takes and they're going to drive everybody. But also they can get everybody going."

The Week 1 win over Tennessee was a perfect example.

Edwards recovered a Will Levis fumble forced by DeMarcus Walker. Edwards also blitzed later in the game on a stunt, setting a pick for Edmunds to fly through the open gap for a sack.

That effort isn't lost on the rest of the Bears' secondary. 

"TJ sacrificed himself on a pick so Tremaine could make the play," Overstreet said. "Not only that, if you look at secondary, they all rush it down there to get to Tremaine even though there was a man coverage because they're all feeding and excited with each other."

Another example came in Week 3. The Bears' defense, with its back against the wall on its own goal line after a 44-yard pass play, needed to make a play of its own.

Colts' quarterback Anthony Richardson rolled to his left and made a late throw that Edmunds intercepted. It left Indianapolis scoreless, snuffed momentum and kept the Bears in the game during a time when the offense was struggling to get going.

Sanborn, who had a timely sack in the week prior against Houston, helped make that interception, too.

"We bring him in the game in Houston, he gets a sack. He comes in the game last week, he gets his hands up and helps to create the tip to create the takeaway deep in the red zone," Bears' defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. "He actually tipped the football. He's just ready to play. He's a great equalizer for us. Very versatile player, extremely intelligent, smart, and works his tail off."

Still, Edmunds needed to know where he was among the Bears' secondary, and easily made the interception.

"That's the camaraderie they built over the last couple years," Overstreet said.

That camaraderie gives way to confidence and a complete defense.

While the linebackers are usually in constant communication with the defensive front, the Bears' linebacker corps has built communication rapport from the bottom to the top of the defense.

"Communication flows a lot of times from the linebackers to the front, but linebackers to the back," Bears' safeties coach Andre Curtis said. "The better they are, the more smooth the communication can be with everybody else. It gives everybody confidence and allows all the people around them to play fast."

The Bears' linebackers established their talent as a collective unit in the back end of the 2023 season, but have added depth pieces behind the key contributors of Edmunds, Sanborn and Edwards.

Ogbongbemiga, who came over from the Los Angeles Chargers as a reserve and special teams ace, never feels like a reserve. He was told the Bears' linebackers were good teammates and better people before meeting the linebacker room for the first time.

They lived up to their high billing and more.

"I was told that coming in, but sometimes you don't know until you're really in," Bears' linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga said. "We all teach each other. There's no egos. Everybody's humble. We all work together."

Working together is a sign of the Bears' preparation. That's one of the areas Ogbongbemiga notices the biggest difference.

When the linebackers take the practice field, they take it with purpose. They don't take it easy, either.

"It all comes from the work in practice, something I've never experienced before," Ogbongbemiga said. "That's the hardest place to come to practice."

With the Bears coming off a Week 4 win where they held Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams' offense to just 18 points.

Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington are using the linebackers in different alignments and on different blitzes. It's showing through four weeks of the season.

That production is a product of a unit that understands how to prepare and how to create plays on game day.

"We just put in the work on the grass," Ogbongbemiga said. "That shows on game day."