The Chicago Bears led the NFL in takeaways last season, although much was left to be desired from the overall performance of the defense led by defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
Not only did the Bears as a team lead the NFL in takeaways (33) and interceptions (23), but they also had the league leader in interceptions in All-Pro safety Kevin Byard, who departed this offseason to sign with the New England Patriots. Now, Chicago will look to replicate, or even better, their performance going into the 2026 season.
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During the NFL owners meeting in Arizona last week, head coach Ben Johnson spoke about the coaching staff’s focus on improving their takeaway performance next year, with plenty of new names on the defense. Johnson pointed to defensive backs coach Al Harris as one of the keys to how the defense forces turnovers and how his mindset throughout his coaching tenure has been highly successful and getting takeaways.
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“(Al Harris has) just got a way of teaching these guys to be in a good spot and take the ball away,” Johnson said, via CHGO. “And so that’s been his M.O. since he was coaching (defensive backs) in Dallas, and that carried on over here. And so that’s why I do have confidence is that he’s still with us. I think those guys as an entire unit, I’m talking about Richard Smith at linebackers as well, they’re very ball conscious, looking to punch that ball out any opportunity that they get. And we’re going to continue to make that a focal point for us because, truth be told, that was a big reason for our success last year was our ability to take the ball away.”
Chicago will have plenty of newcomers on defense, including safety Coby Bryant, and they’re going to have their hands full in making up for the production from last year. Both Byard and cornerback Nahshon Wright departed in free agency, and the latter cashed in on his career-best season by signing a one-year deal with the New York Jets. The good news is the Bears coaches don’t want to lose focus on creating takeaways, opportunities that can not only flip the game on its head, but also rile up Soldier Field to new heights during home games.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears HC Ben Johnson: Defense will focus on improving takeaways