CHICAGO — Every time Montez Sweat’s name comes up around Ben Johnson, the Chicago Bears coach reinforces his opinion that last season was the veteran defensive end’s best to date.
For the Bears defense to make meaningful improvements in 2026, Sweat might have to take his game to another level in Year 8.
That’s the position the Bears are in midway through training camp and a little less than a month from the start of the season. They’re short on proven difference makers on that side of the ball and hoping coordinator Dennis Allen and secondary coach Al Harris can cook up a bounty of takeaways once again.
To be clear, if the organization has shortcomings this season, it probably would be unfair to pin them on the defense. The Bears built this roster around a powerful offense that appears to be as versatile as it is explosive. Johnson has declared he wants to smash records with the offense, so if the Bears are winning 38-35, that would work.
The Bears had a consistent flair for the dramatic in 2025, when they pulled out games in which they appeared doomed in the final two minutes. They would love to close out games with a lead by finishing off opponents with their defense. To that end, they’ll have to be better.
“We’ll have to see,” Sweat said Tuesday when asked how he expects the pass rush to perform.
As you’ll recall, the coaches talked about getting back to fundamentals this offseason and summer, with the idea being they were very scheme-focused in Year 1 in order to make sure everyone understood all of the nuances of the system. As part of the focus on fundamentals, the linemen have gone to four-point stances and want to generate a more explosive get-off at the snap.
“The fundamental side that we’ve been homing in on is definitely transferring to the film,” Sweat said.
Sweat has to be a central figure a year after he led the team with 10 sacks, nine of them coming in the final 12 games. He added a sack and four quarterback hits in the two playoff games, and for Johnson it was the eye test as much as the numbers that impressed.
“He is capable of affecting the quarterback,” Johnson said. “I think he did that last year. It hasn’t been a secret that I thought he played his best season last year, run game and passing game, so I think he can piggyback on that with another really good year. That’s what we’re looking for from him.”
Sweat said Johnson has expressed the same thing to him.
“It was a cool year, but obviously I want more,” he said.
The Bears are hunting around for a little help. They signed veteran Marcus Davenport to a one-year contract Monday, but he wasn’t spotted during practice Tuesday. He had production early in his career playing for Allen in New Orleans but has been oft-injured lately and looks like a no-risk flier.
Dayo Odeyingbo might have a role rushing the passer from the interior in the sub packages, and he’s probably still trying to build strength coming off a torn Achilles tendon suffered last year. Austin Booker is a breakout candidate and the Bears have high hopes for him.
The only player potentially capable of galvanizing the pass rush into something above last year’s inconsistent level is Sweat. General manager Ryan Poles believed Sweat could be that kind of player — the linchpin of the front four — when he traded for him on Oct. 31, 2023, and signed him to a four-year, $98 million extension.
It’s fair to wonder if there’s more pressure on Sweat now than there was at the start of camp. Why? They brought in free-agent safety Coby Bryant to be a difference maker and continue the takeaways in the secondary, and now he’s out, maybe for the season. Xavier Woods can be a quality starter, but he’s not going to take the ball away at a high rate. That’s fine, but the Bears spent money on a guy to be a difference maker on the back end and they’re without him already.
It has been quite a while since the Bears had a player post double-digit sacks in consecutive seasons. Julius Peppers was the last with 11 in 2011 and 11 1/2 in 2012. Sweat, at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, has a similar frame and length to the Hall of Famer Peppers. He has to stack more full and productive seasons to play more like Peppers.
Sacks aren’t the only measure of pass defense, but there’s a reason the guys who pile them up get paid. According to Sharp Football Analysis, over the last five years teams that did not allow a sack on a drive scored 41% of the time and scored a touchdown 26% of the time. Over the same period, teams that allowed one or more sack on a drive scored 25% of the time with touchdowns on only 9% of those possessions.
What Allen has in mind and how he evolves as the weeks go on will be fascinating. Sharp Football Analysis had the Bears ninth in blitz percentage in 2025 at 28.2%. They were part of a 12-team cluster between the Denver Broncos (third, 31.9%) and New England Patriots and New York Jets (tied for 13th, 27.2%).
If the Bears are struggling to get home with four rushers, would Allen consider dialing up more pressure? He might have to, and the experienced play caller is really good with his game plans when it comes to blitzes and pressures. The thing is, no one wants to live that way on defense all season.
In a perfect world, Sweat would redefine what Johnson considers his best season and have more help around him. If not, the Bears better hope the takeaway train is running again.
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