It really looked like the Chicago Bears were dead in the water toward the end of the first half of the season opener. Caleb Williams and the offense were struggling. The special teams made a huge mistake with a turnover that led to three Tennessee Titans points. Even the defense struggled to get stop as they were gashed on the ground. Tennessee built a 17-0 lead at one point. Almost everybody thought it was over, given how the offense was playing. However, GM Ryan Poles knew he’d built a resilient football team. If his players lived up to their stocks, the game wasn’t over yet.
As it turns out, one of Poles’ most overlooked moves of the off-season was absolutely crucial to sparking an insane second half comeback. It started with a great blocked punt by Daniel Hardy, allowing Jonathan Owens to scoop it for a score to get the Bears back in the game. After another field goal, the Titans were driving towards midfield with a chance to reestablish control with under 12 minutes left. That was when Darrell Taylor, acquired from Seattle for a 6th round pick only a couple of weeks ago, delivered the staggering blow.
Taylor had 21.5 sacks in his first three seasons with Seattle. It’s not like he was an unknown bum. The guy had some success. It appears the Seahawks coaching staff didn’t care for his lack of ability to stop the run. That didn’t bother the Bears. They needed him for what he does best, and boy, did he do that. Aside from the monumental strip sack, he also had another sack, two QB hits, and two tackles for a loss. He made a case for being the game’s MVP. Without him, there is no way the defense finds the juice to pull off that comeback.
Keep in mind Ryan Poles could’ve easily been discouraged after missing out on Matthew Judon. However, true to form, the Bears GM reset and kept up an active search for help elsewhere. Seattle gave him the green light on Taylor, and there was no hesitation. It is a safe bet other teams are probably kicking themselves for not taking advantage of such an obvious bargain. Chicago gave up a 6th round pick and still has seven picks in the upcoming draft. That is how it’s done.
