LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have a top-10 defense, and it is far from satisfied with its performance in the first part of the season.
The defense has kept the team in games while the offense has struggled to find its footing as Caleb Williams goes through the usual learning process for rookie quarterbacks. The Bears (2-2) clinched both of their wins with late interceptions.
“Honestly, we haven’t been good enough,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “Quite honestly. I feel like we definitely haven’t taken away the explosive plays that we want to. We definitely let some of those go.
“We definitely have got hit on some of our runs. Just not being disciplined, not being where we are supposed to be consistently.”
The Bears' 10th-ranked defense is third in takeaways with eight and second in passer rating against (69.0). Thanks to Gervon Dexter's three sacks and two each by Darrell Taylor and Montez Sweat, they have pulled up to the middle of the league in sacks (10) after they were next to last in 2023 and last in 2022.
Taylor was acquired in a trade with Seattle just before the season, giving Chicago an extra pass-rusher for its rotation and creating an opportunity to move players around. Sweat has been lining up in different spots for the first time since he came over in a trade last year with Washington.
“Those two guys have the ability to affect a quarterback, and certainly Montez can win from anywhere on the defensive line,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “We like the versatility that Darrell brings to the table ... and hopefully we can just continue with our (different) alignments to generate one on ones in critical times.”
It’s a defense without a lot of big names, but with several capable players.
“I think the best part about our defense is anyone on the defense can have a big game at any moment,” Sweat said. “It’s kind of like give or take, who’s going to show out on Sunday. It’s like a surprise.
“This past week, I mean obviously you seen (safety Jaquan Brisker) jump out a lot on tape. I feel like they kid of snubbed him on a player-of-the-week type of deal. He had a sack, lots of tackles, a pick and a pick called back.”
Bears defensive players said before the season they were aiming for the top five in the league. Because they don’t play against their surging NFC North rivals until the season’s second half, and are facing a stretch of games now against teams with losing records in recent years, it’s possible they could take huge steps forward. They host Carolina on Sunday and play Jacksonville in London before games against Washington, Arizona and New England.
They have had problems in one unexpected area, though. They’re 18th against the run after being first last year.
“We’re leaking,” Sweat admitted.
They have allowed 119 yards rushing or more three times. They face Carolina's Chuba Hubbard on Sunday after he had consecutive 100-yard games.
“We just have to go back to that and make sure we own our specific areas on the field,” Washington said. “The premise of our run defense is single gap control. We’re not a two-gap system. And so that’s a simplistic way of looking at it, but it really comes down to that: Control your area.”
While the offense searches for an identity, at least Chicago's defense has one.
“Last year, for us, was about trying to find our identity as a whole,” Johnson said.
Sweat brought it all together last year, after they had signed linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards in the offseason.
“We’re more of a unit,” Johnson said. "Our energy and all that is coming together.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Los Angeles Rams tight end Colby Parkinson carries the ball and is tackled by Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat creates a fumble as he tackles Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Three former Memphis officers were convicted Thursday of charges of witness tampering in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, and two were acquitted of federal civil rights violations in a death that sparked national protests and calls for broad changes in policing.
Jurors deliberated for about six hours before coming back with the mixed verdict for Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith.
All of them were convicted of at least one charge, but Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights charges. Haley was acquitted of violating Nichols’ civil rights causing death, but convicted of the lesser charge of violating his civil rights causing bodily injury.
The court remained silent as the verdicts were being read.
The judge ordered the officers to be taken into custody, but he planned to hold a hearing Monday to hear from the defense lawyers about releasing them pending sentencing. The witness tampering charges carry possible sentences of up to 20 years in prison.
Rodney Wells, Nichols’ stepfather, told The Associated Press outside the courtroom: “A win is a win. They’re all going to jail.”
Five officers were charged in Nichols’ death, but two pleaded guilty and testified against members of their old crime suppression unit, eliminating any defense strategy that would have relied on them sticking together. Jurors repeatedly watched graphic clips from police video that showed the officers punch and kick Nichols and hit him with a police baton just steps from his home, as the 29-year-old called out for his mother.
Prosecutors argued that Nichols was beaten for running from a traffic stop, saying it was part of a common police practice referred to in officer slang a “street tax” or a run tax.” They said the officers lied — to a supervisor, to medical professionals attending to Nichols and in required written reports — about the extent of the force they used.
Nichols, who was Black, ran from the traffic stop despite being hit with pepper spray and a Taser. The five officers, who were fired after the beating, also are Black.
Some of the most emotional testimony at trial came from one of the officers, Desmond Mills, who took a plea deal in which prosecutors call for up to 15 years in prison. He testified in tears that he was sorry for the beating, that he left Nichols’ young son fatherless and that he wishes he stopped the punches. Later, he testified that he went along with a cover-up in hopes that Nichols would survive and the whole thing would “blow over.”
Nichols died Jan. 10, 2023, three days after the beating. His son is now 7 years old.
The other officer who reached a deal with prosecutors, Emmitt Martin, testified that Nichols was “helpless” while officers pummeled him, and that afterward the officers understood “they weren’t going to tell on me, and I wasn’t going to tell on them.” Under his plea agreement, prosecutors will suggest a prison sentence of up to 40 years.
Defense attorneys questioned whether the officers were properly trained. They also pointed to Martin, who acknowledged punching and kicking Nichols in the upper torso and head, as a principal aggressor.
The police video shows the officers milling about and talking as Nichols struggles with his injuries. An autopsy report shows he died from blows to the head. The report describes brain injuries, and cuts and bruises on his head and other areas.
The five officers also have been charged with second-degree murder in state court, where they pleaded not guilty, although Mills and Martin are expected to change their pleas. A trial date in state court has not been set.
Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee.
A sign is seen outside the federal courthouse during the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Justin Smith, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Martin Zummach, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tadarrius Bean, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Demetrius Haley, left, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse with his attorney Michael Stengel, right, for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
RowVaughn Wells, right, is comforted during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of her son, Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Family and friends of Tyre Nichols gather for a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Jamal Dupree, left, and La'Toya Yizar, right, comfort each other during a prayer vigil outside the federal courthouse as jury deliberations begin for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of their brother, Tyre Nichols, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Family and friends of Tyre Nichols, pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichol, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht)
Justin Smith, one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Tadarrius Bean one of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, arrives at the federal courthouse for the day's proceedings Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Friends and family of Tyre Nichols gather to pray before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating Nichols, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
RowVaughn Wells, left, mother of Tyre Nichols, prays with family and friends before entering the federal courthouse for the trial of three former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 fatal beating of her son Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
