Bears’ defensive replacements rise to occasion as Chicago improves to 8-3

CHICAGO — D’Marco Jackson added a wrinkle to his routine upon learning that he was starting at middle linebacker and calling defensive plays for the Chicago Bears against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. He set his alarm earlier each morning so he could stand in the mirror and bark out the calls as he committed them to memory.

It was only the second time in his three-year career that the 27-year-old linebacker wore the green dot on his helmet and had to call the defense. So, naturally, there were nerves, which Jackon’s wife, Carly, could sense. Without hesitation, she freed up her husband from the hourly wake-ups with their teething 6-month-old daughter so he could get the rest needed to be at his best for a rare opportunity.

«She knew I was going to be stepping up to a bigger task at work,» Jackson said. «For her to take on that task at home, it ain’t easy. So just the support from her, it was huge for me out there.»

Jackson finished with a team-high 15 tackles in the Bears’ 31-28 victory. For a defense decimated by injuries, the contributions from Chicago’s reserves were critical as the Bears won their fourth straight and eighth of their past nine to remain atop the NFC North with an 8-3 record.

Without its top three linebackers in Tremaine Edmunds, who landed on injured reserve Saturday, T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell, Chicago’s thin unit tapped deep into its depth in Week 12.

In addition to being without Edmunds, Edwards and Sewell, rookie Ruben Hyppolite II, who started at weakside linebacker, exited the game with a shoulder injury at the end of the first quarter. The Bears had to look even further down their depth chart to fill the void midgame and called on Amen Ogbongbemiga, their special teams ace who had not played a single snap on defense in 2025.

Nahshon Wright for the second-most interceptions on the team with four.

Wright, a fellow backup defender who has started 10 games this season because of Jaylon Johnson’s absence, broke that tie on the defense’s second snap of the day when he used one hand to snatch Mason Rudolph’s pass out of the air and haul in his fifth interception.

It was the tone-setter the Bears needed to play the complementary football they had lacked in previous games. After three big stops by Chicago’s defense — Wright’s interception, the turnover on downs after the tush push and a forced fumble — the Bears’ offense scored touchdowns.

Safety Kevin Byard III, who entered Week 12 standing alone at the top of the NFL’s interception leader board with five, now shares that accolade with Wright.

«Super happy for him,» Byard said. «He’s getting on my nerves a little bit because we’ve got a little bet going on … This guy’s been playing big-time ball. He’s phenomenal.»

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Wright’s interception was one of two takeaways the Bears recorded Sunday, upping their season total to a league-high 24, which matches how many they had all of last season.

Defensive end Montez Sweat accounted for the Bears’ second takeaway when he strip-sacked Rudolph and recovered the fumble. It was one of two sacks for Sweat, who earned a game ball and has recorded at least one sack in five of his past six games.

«He’s been heating up since the bye week,» Ben Johnson said. «You just feel it each week. He seems to impact the game a little more each week.

«He had two sacks, and had a chance for a third out there, from my count. It’s good to see that come on, just like that. I feel him. I feel [DL] Grady [Jarrett], [DL Austin Booker], I feel all those guys. Whenever we get that two-score lead there, that’s when it certainly starts to play in our favor a little bit more as well.»

On the final play before Bears quarterback Caleb Williams took a knee to secure Chicago’s sixth one-score victory, safety Jaquan Brisker got a hand on Rudolph’s fourth-down pass attempt and sprinted off the field.

On a day when Chicago’s reserves paved the way, the Bears’ starters finished the Steelers off.

«This group is resilient,» Brisker said. «We make a lot of plays, we trust each other. Chemistry is growing and you can tell we don’t get too high, too low. We just stay neutral, which is big, and we know how to finish.»