By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Bears coordinators on Monday broke down five plays and performances that defined Chicago’s 31-23 Week 6 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, highlighting Kyler Gordon’s historic defensive debut and Caleb Williams’ sharp return from injury.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, offensive coordinator Press Taylor and special teams coordinator Richard Hightower spoke to reporters a day after the win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium improved Chicago’s record to 4-2.
Gordon, a fourth-year cornerback making his season debut after being activated from the physically unable to perform list Saturday, recorded 3.0 sacks and two forced fumbles in the second half. He became just the second NFL defensive back since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to post at least three sacks and two forced fumbles in a game, according to the team. He accomplished the feat in just 17 snaps.
“It was exciting to see because he did some things that we’ve always felt like that he could do for us,” Allen said. “I’ve always thought that there was a way that we could utilize him that he could really help us win games, and he was big in the game this week.”
Allen said Gordon’s effectiveness as a blitzer comes from natural ability. “He’s got outstanding quickness and he’s really elusive,” Allen said. “He just has a knack for it and an innate ability to find the quarterback.”
The defense also held Bijan Robinson, the NFL’s leading rusher entering the game with 580 yards, to 61 yards on nine carries. “We had a plan to try to be able to do that,” Allen said. “It really went down to just the guys that we had in the game, for the most part, executing the plan and doing it the right way.”
On offense, Williams returned from a three-game absence with a hamstring injury and set career highs with 12 consecutive completions and an 83.3 completion percentage. He threw for 305 yards and one touchdown with a 111.2 passer rating.
“The most impressive thing was that he hasn’t played since Week 2,” Taylor said. “To come back and to be on point, to be on rhythm, to be as accurate as he was in his first outing in a while, credit to him.”
Taylor said the team’s training staff played a key role in keeping Williams fresh during his recovery, arranging throwing sessions before walk-throughs to maintain his timing.
The Bears also showed marked improvement in the red zone, scoring four touchdowns on five trips inside the Falcons’ 20-yard line. Entering the game, Chicago had the worst red-zone touchdown rate in the NFL at 42.9 percent. “We knew we weren’t going to be able to settle for three in those situations against those guys,” Taylor said. “One of our keys to victory was scoring touchdowns, not field goals in the red zone.”
Special teams produced two takeaways. Josh Blackwell recovered a muffed punt created by punter Tory Taylor’s “banana ball,” a sideways-rotating kick Taylor developed playing Australian Rules Football. Zavier Scott later forced a fumble on a kickoff return that Nick McCloud recovered.
“Tory hit an unbelievable banana ball,” Hightower said. “What I love about that play, along with the other takeaway, honestly, is you have a specialist involved with creating a turnover. You have an offensive player involved in creating a turnover, and then you have basically two DBs recovering fumbles.”
The offense controlled the clock, possessing the ball for 40 minutes and 8 seconds and jumping to a 14-0 lead on touchdowns in its first two drives.
The Bears will look to build on the momentum as the second half of the NFL season approaches.
