If not for Lions running back D’Andre Swift’s drop in the end zone Sunday, the Bears’ vaunted defense would have spent this week under even more scrutiny than Mitch Trubisky and the hot-and-cold offense.
Hoping to regain its 2018 bite — when the Bears led the NFL in six major categories, including takeaways with 36 — the Bears’ defense instead allowed 426 yards on 72 plays (5.9 avg.) and 23 points. That’s the most yards allowed in a season opener in at least the last 80 years and maybe ever. And it’s the most in any game since 2018, when they allowed 541 (429 in regulation) in an overtime loss to the Dolphins.