3 things we heard from the Chicago Bears, including late hits on Justin Fields and ‘ball of energy’ Jaquan Brisker’s impact

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus met with reporters Monday at Halas Hall to review the 28-13 victory over the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field.

Here are three things we learned as the Bears get ready to turn the page to Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns.

1. Matt Eberflus said he is ‘very active’ about making sure officials keep an eye on possible dangerous hits against quarterback Justin Fields.

Eberflus said he saw hits on Fields in the Nov. 19 game against the Lions that crossed the line. In Sunday’s game, he said he wasn’t happy about linebacker Jack Campbell’s late hit on Fields when the quarterback slid following a 1-yard run on the first play of the game. Campbell slid his body over Fields’ head after Fields went down.

“I’m always in their ear about that because protecting the quarterbacks in this league is big,” Eberflus said. “Those guys are the league, so it’s important that we do that and we continue to do that. If you have a guy that’s a runner and he slides down like that, we’ve got to protect him.”

Eberflus said he would send a couple of the questionable hits into the league. Bears safety Jaquan Brisker said the NFL “needs to get on that” and went so far as to say other teams are trying to knock Fields from the game.

“If it was us, they’ll be throwing (a flag),” Brisker said. “It wouldn’t be a reaction, they would just throw it. I think they should just treat him fair. He is a quarterback. And I know he’s 230 (pounds), and he’s running a 4.3, but it doesn’t really matter. He’s still a quarterback, and we have to protect him. It’s disappointing.

“Obviously the other team is being told to do dirty stuff. ‘After the play, hit him like this, a certain way.’ It’s obviously been told by the way he’s been treated the last couple weeks. A lot of shots to the head. It is very disappointing seeing a guy like that get hit and take hits like that, and one of those hits — God forbid — could be something very bad.”

2. Eberflus said Bears coaches counted 18 tackles for Jaquan Brisker on Sunday, not the 17 in the stats book.

Either way, Brisker had the most tackles by a Bears defensive back since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, according to the Bears. He had 13 solo tackles, two passes defended and a forced fumble.

After re-watching the film, Eberflus said Brisker’s “instincts and passion really showed up” in the game.

“He was beating guys to the punch,” Eberflus said. “I love his aggressiveness. He was dropping in from the higher part of the field to be in single high or just coming down from a shell, whatever shell coverage we’re playing, and being able to react to the run that way. … He’s an aggressive guy. He does a really good job tackling. His instincts are elite.”

Eberflus called Brisker “a ball of energy” on and off the field, noting he can feel it when Brisker stands next to him during the national anthem and they lock arms. He said Brisker brings that infectious energy to his everyday work, often texting the coach to tell him, “Put a couple pressures in for me” or “Make sure I’m part of the game plan.”

“Brisker loves ball. He is ball. Like, everything about him,” center Lucas Patrick said. “And he gets the impact plays that ballplayers get. When somebody does that and they step out and have a game like he did and brings it every play, brings it in practice, you can’t not respect him. I know he’s a second-year player and people can say, what? But like, he does not act like a second-year player. He’s earned the respect of us and he’s tougher than nails.”

3. Eberflus and center Lucas Patrick spoke of growing confidence among Bears players.

For many Bears players, the team — which last won back-to-back games in 2021 — is on its first two-game winning streak since they arrived in Chicago. And that has fostered a lighter atmosphere at Halas Hall.

“We were talking yesterday after the game, this is probably the best week I’ve seen (in) this locker room in a long time,” Patrick said. “You could just tell that there was a confidence and like a calm confidence. The other cool part is there’s a lot of across-the-locker-room talk. … It’s just fun when we’re walking around and you can see guys mingling. This team is pretty close right now. You kind of build over the season and relationships build. But it’s a credit to the importance (Eberflus) has put on that since the spring.”

Eberflus echoed that seeing their progress pay off has helped build confidence as the Bears prepare to face an 8-5 Browns team that could threaten the streak.

“The guys are upbeat and they’ve always been that way,” he said. “But you can certainly feel the confidence growing as we start stacking these wins.”