Bears defense dominates Bengals QB Joe Burrow in joint practice session

The Chicago Bears defense gave Joe Burrow no slack in joint practice with the Bengals

Thursday marked the Chicago Bears‘ first joint practice of the pre-season. The Bears welcomed the Cincinnati Bengals to Halas Hall for joint practice, including 11-on-11 game drills.

The Bears’ defense showed they were not messing around from the first snap. The Bears forced a turnover on the Bengals’ first offensive play by intercepting a pass from Joe Burrow. Burrow would end the practice about as poorly as it started.  Burrow was 15-for-32 with three interceptions. Two of his passes were battled down at the line of scrimmage.

Jaylon Johnson had a fantastic practice on Thursday. The Tweet below shows some of Johnson’s highlights locking down the Bengals’ pass catchers.

Jay don’t play 😤 pic.twitter.com/ObzWx5PK9j

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 16, 2024

Why a good showing in practice matters

Tom Brady often talks about taking practice and preparation seriously. Taking practice as seriously as you would take a game, is one of the keys to success. Not all players can be Tom Brady, but they can all practice better behaviors, choices and habits until they become automatic. Repetition matters and the Chicago Bears defense showed that they understood that today.

It is worth mentioning that it was raining hard in Lake Forrest during practice. That likely played a factor in Burrow’s poor performance. That is not to say the Bears defense didn’t do a good job, they did. Two interceptions came from bad Burrow throws, and the Bears capitalized.

The third interception came from a pass that was tipped by Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin. The pass landed in the hands of a Bears defender. Which again shows great opportunistic play from the Bears defensive unit. Throwing the football becomes much more difficult during heavy rain conditions.

Capitalizing on mistakes is a great thing to see from the Bears defense, even if it is just practice. A defense that is opportunistic is the most dangerous. NFL quarterbacks make a limited amount of mistakes, especially a QB like Joe Burrow who is known for his accuracy and arm strength. If a defense can take advantage of those few mistakes, it gives their team a much better chance to win games.

Takeaways

Strong performances in practice are one of the telling factors that the Chicago Bears have undergone a culture shift. An air of pessimism and bracing for losses is something that has followed the team for a long time. For the first time in years, their is optimism about the Chicago Bears facility. The positive energy even during practice is a sign that things have changed.

The Chicago Bears might not win the Superbowl this year, or even next year. What is important is that the players have bought into the vision for this team. The team is working and playing hard even in the pre-season, when things carry less weight.

This group of players wants to be here, and they want to win football games.