As the Chicago Bears get set for another home game this weekend facing off against the Carolina Panthers, the defensive unit seems to be honing in on stopping one specific player.
That player isn't veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, nor is it his top pass catching target in wide receiver Diontae Johnson, the Bears' biggest emphasis on defense this week will be on containing running back Chuba Hubbard.
The Panthers top back has topped 100+ rushing yards in each of the last two weeks and is tied for second in the league in rushing first downs in that span. He has been a major focal point since the offense made a quarterback change in Week 3.
Hubbard ranks inside the Top-10 running backs in rushing yards through the first quarter of the regular season and his biggest threat is his ability to make big plays. Hubbard has already had two carries go for 20+ yards and a big reason why is because of the physicality that he runs with.
"He's a downhill player, tremendous contact balance, and so you see this young man breaking tackles, you see a lot of yards after contact" Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington explained . "So it puts a lot of onus on us to be very good with our tackle and our gap control. The other thing about about this young man is that he will find the void in the run defense and he could be as a cutback runner, he could be at the point of attack, if there's a void, he's going to find it. He's getting downhill, and as a as a result, there are big plays."
Of Hubbard's 296 rushing yards this season, 181 have come after contact. He's been an incredibly difficult player to bring down and the Bears defense will have to be on their A-game when facing him on Sunday.
Over the last two seasons, the Bears have been one of the top rushing defenses in the entire league, but that's an area where the unit has taken a step back in this season.
"The resolve that we have in that defensive room is unbelievable, and we'll address the things that we need to do to be as consistent as we possibly can," Washington added. "There was a great snapshot of the best case scenario for our run defense in the last drive [of Week 4]. The Rams ran an outside zone play, and I think we stopped that play for a negative gain. That is what we want to be on play one, play 51, and in that particular situation, we just need to be consistent and we will."
Heading into this matchup, Washington also specifically mentioned the Panthers' offensive line as one of the stars for their offense. If the Bears can't find a way to beat that unit and contain Hubbard, they could be in for a long day on Sunday.
Related: Shane Waldron and the Bears' offense are putting the plan in place to fix the latest issue that's killing the unit
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