The 2015 Bears allowed an unacceptable 24.8 points (20th) and 345 yards (14th) per game. Accordingly, that side of the football was a focus, with personnel additions via free agency and the draft. The Bears have improved statistically in just about all areas and done it in spite of some costly lost playing time to central figures, particularly in the front-seven.
Prominent among those were rush-linebackers Leonard Floyd, the team’s No. 1 draft choice, and Pernell McPhee, recovering from offseason knee surgery and unable to play before the Green Bay game. Both had sacks in the win over the Minnesota Vikings and signaled a possible beginning of the kind of pass rush needed to help a young secondary that has struggled with three different starters at cornerback in eight games opposite Tracy Porter.