Column: Should the Chicago Bears blitz more to aid their lacking pass rush? Injuries in the secondary make that a Catch-22.

Matt Eberflus faces a dilemma as he prepares the Chicago Bears defense for the third straight week with a front that cannot reach quarterbacks while injuries sweep through the secondary.

Actually, it’s just one of the dilemmas in front of Eberflus, and it appears unlikely to go away soon. The Bears are in a real Catch-22 as they’ve been unable to get a hint of pressure while missing some of their top cover men. It has led to some pretty ugly all-22 video.

It’s as if the Bears are damned if they do and damned if they don’t when it comes to pass defense, and that’s a bad spot to be in Sunday against the Denver Broncos and quarterback Russell Wilson — or any opponent.

A small sample size of statistics is bothersome and potentially a sign of more bad things to come. The Bears have one sack, last in a league in which 20 teams have seven or more. They have only nine QB hits and their pressure rate is 19.6%.

If there’s upside in this matchup, the Broncos pass defense has been similarly atrocious. Before getting looted for 70 points by the Miami Dolphins last week, they allowed Washington Commanders quarterback Sam Howell to complete 27 of 39 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns in his third career start.

When the Bears signed defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5 million contract a week into training camp, the hope was he would raise the level of play on the line. That hasn’t happened, and no one else is winning one-on-one matchups with regularity.

Consequently, the Bears are struggling to generate negative plays and having a hard time putting offenses behind in second-and-long and third-and-unmanageable situations.

“Four equals one,” Ngakoue said. “We say that in our room — four D-linemen equals one. We just have to play off each other, feed off each other. Great defenses, they thrive off the defensive line.”

At the same time, the secondary has been beat up. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon (broken right hand) is on injured reserve for at least two more games. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) and free safety Eddie Jackson (foot) have not practiced this week. Rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson missed most of the Week 3 game in Kansas City. Strong safety Jaquan Brisker has missed snaps in all three games, and reserve nickel corner Josh Blackwell has a nagging hamstring injury. The majority of the Bears’ injuries have hit two groups: the secondary and offensive line.

There is a cry for Eberflus — someone, anyone — to blitz more in order to generate different results. It seems like a natural reflex, but before you continue to holler for this, there are some layers to consider.

First, Eberflus is from the Tampa-2 coaching tree, and one of the core tenets of the scheme is pressuring with four and playing coverage with seven. With all eyes on the quarterback, it’s supposed to lead to takeaways, although the Bears have only two — intercepting Chiefs backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert twice last week after the game was out of hand.

The Indianapolis Colts did not rank above 27th in blitz rate in any season when Eberflus was running their defense. Of course, it’s easier to win with the front four after you’ve traded a first-round draft pick to acquire All-Pro tackle DeForest Buckner.

The Bears dominated with the same scheme for years under former coach Lovie Smith, but there’s no comparison when you look at their talent then versus now.

The flip side to sending extra pass rushers is it puts inexperienced defensive backs in jeopardy of giving up big plays. The Bears spent a good chunk of the Week 2 loss at Tampa Bay with a safety tandem of Elijah Hicks, a seventh-round pick in 2022, and Quindell Johnson, an undrafted rookie claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Rams. Like nearly everything with this team, there’s a catch to shifting philosophy and pressuring more.

It’s not like the Bears are static in Cover-2. They’re mixing in a lot of Cover-3 as well in an effort to keep the ball in front of them. They lead the NFL in zone coverage on passing downs at more than 73%. NFL games are won and lost on explosive plays, and the Bears are attempting to minimize those big shots and vertical passes.

The idea is someone will step up and make a play before the opponent reaches the red zone. Unfortunately, they haven’t been forcing enough negative plays and the quarterback eventually begins to pick apart the zone.

It’s hard to blitz effectively in the NFL and it’s not always the answer. Former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio didn’t dial up pressure very often. He isn’t doing that in Miami now either. The Minnesota Vikings have one of the worst pass defenses in the league, and they are far and away the most blitz-heavy defense.

The real issue here — beyond strategy and play calling — is the Bears don’t have anyone making plays on the ball. Whether they are in zone, straight man, blitz man or a simulated pressure, someone has to step up. And it starts with the defensive line, especially if key members of the secondary remain unavailable.