Chicago Bears: Jackson Having A Bounce-back Season So Far

After struggling to be the All-Pro player he was earlier in his career, safety Eddie Jackson is enjoying a renaissance season.

There have been a few surprises for the Chicago Bears through the first quarter of the 2022 season. Not many experts gave them a chance to win more than three games. However, they already have two.

We see a team that plays hard on every snap. There were times in the last few seasons in which they looked listless. That isn’t happening this year. New head coach Matt Eberflus has his HITS (hard playing, intensity, good tackling, and smart play) principle and the players are buying into it. Yes, there were a few missteps last week, but it is a work in progress.

There has also been some good play from surprising players. One of them is Eddie Jackson.

This may be surprising considering Jackson was an All-Pro player early in his career. He was a turnover machine, He had 10 interceptions and 5 forced fumbles in his first three seasons, earning himself a huge contract.

Suddenly, though, things changed. In the past two seasons, he had no interceptions and just one fumble recovery. With a change in coaches and defensive system, it seemed that Jackson had his back against the wall. New head coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams had no ties to Jackson. If he didn’t improve, his time in Chicago could be in jeopardy.

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Jackson responds positively

There was a lot of talk about his poor tackling. He was never a good tackler either in college or in the pros. However, his ball-hawking skills made up for that. Without generating turnovers, his poor tackling skills are highlighted more. Jackson heard the whispers about the criticism and that his job was on the line and knew he had to step up.

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Boy, has he ever stepped up. In four games this season, he already has three interceptions. Additionally, he has a forced fumble that led to another turnover.

Jackson has returned to being a turnover machine once again. He has been an integral part of the defense not allowing a touchdown in the second half of any game this season. Furthermore, his three interceptions represent 75 percent of the team’s total (4). As a result, the Chicago Bears pass defense ranks fourth in passing yards allowed, second in passing touchdowns allowed, and ninth in interceptions.

Now the talk about his lack of tackling has died down. Ironically, even that area has improved somewhat. In Week 3’s game against the New York Giants, he had a few touchdown-saving tackles. He took on the bruising Saquon Barkley and made some good tackles.

Bears have a good duo at safety

With Jackson’s resurgent season, the Chicago Bears might have themselves a strong duo at safety. When Jackson came into the league, he was paired with Adrian Amos. The two worked well together and Jackson flourished.

After the 2018 season, Amos departed via free agency. In the three seasons between 2019 and 2021, Jackson had only two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

This offseason, general manager Ryan Poles used one of his second-round picks on strong safety Jaquan Brisker. That move was a terrific move for both the team and Jackson.

Jackson has been a great mentor for Brisker. He teaches the rookie the intricacies of the position and what to expect. Brisker is in awe of Jackson’s ability.

For the backend, as I said, that just gives us more momentum and more swagger and things like that. Teams can’t try us on the backend. We’re showing that on film. We’re proving it. Day in, day out we’re proving it. They can’t touch us back there. Especially having Eddie back there in center field, he’s controlling everything. He’s doing what he has to do and then that’s making our job easier.

Brisker has been great for Jackson as well. He looks like a seasoned veteran already. His ability helps Jackson just concentrate on the ball. Jackson tracks the quarterback and makes the big play.

It is great to see Jackson return to form. He is still young so he and Brisker can cause some damage in the defensive secondary. That, in turn, helps to rebuild the defense and bring back the Monsters of the Midway.