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Grading Out- Panthers vs. Bears

Here is Scout.com's weekly grading position by position.


Defensive Line

Although the yardage and points totals the Bears' defense has been allowing have been top notch, at no point before Sunday had anyone taken seriously any comparisons to the 1985 Bears. One reason was because they hadn't really faced a top offense and performed at a high level. Another was because the sack totals hadn't been especially high. They put it all together on Sunday. The Panthers, who averaged 28 points per game and had only allowed 12 sacks, were sacked 8 times and held to only 3 points. All 8 sacks came from the defensive line. Adewale Ogunleye (4 tackles, 3 sacks, PD) led the charge with three. He did commit a facemask penalty but it was because he was engaged with a blocker and blindly reached out for Jake Delhomme (22-38-235, 2 INTs, 2/8) as he was running past. Alex Brown (4 tackles, 2 sacks, FF, PD) had his best game of the season, collecting two sacks and forcing a fumble. Brown also drew a holding penalty on Travelle Wharton, and nearly picked off a pass. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (3 tackles, sack, TFL) had an early tackle for a loss and then on consecutive plays registered a quarterback knockdown and a sack. Ian Scott had a rare, quiet game. Tank Johnson picked up a tackle for a loss at the very beginning of the contest. Reserves Alfonso Boone (2 tackles, sack) and Michael Haynes (2 tackles, sack) got into the act with a sack each. Boone's came from left defensive end. Boone picked up an unnecessary roughness penalty. The line not only suffocated Delhomme when he tried to throw, but also kept the Panthers in check when they tried to run (16/55). GRADE: A+

We have been talking about what would take our team to the next level.  Well, if we can generate anything near the pass rush we had against Carolina, teams need to start being afraid real fast.