Chicago Bears coach and defacto defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has always utilized eight man fronts as a way to control the line of scrimmage and stop opposing running games.

The Bears play a lot of Cover 3 (Three Deep Zone) Cover 1 (Man-Free) in the secondary and they blend those two coverages. Eberflus wants to force the issue at the line of scrimmage by playing the game within the box.

Playing eight defenders around the line of scrimmage isn’t unique by any means but it is unconventional for the NFL. You don’t see as many 4-4 or 4-2-5 defenses in the NFL as you do in high school or college.

The Bears will play an eight man box to any look. It doesn’t just have to be 21 or 22 personnel on first down like most other teams do.

Diagram 1: 8 man front versus I-Fla Rt. (22 Personnel)

Chicago will also force the issue along the line of scrimmage against 10 and 11 personnel as well. The whole point is to be aggressive and physical at the point of attack.

Diagrams 2 & 3: 8 Man front versus 11 personnel spread formations.

The Bears will also rotate their coverage out of a two-shell as a way to disguise. Chicago will play Cover 2, 2 Man or quarters in certain situations but 70% of the time, they are in a single high safety coverage when they break the huddle.

Being this aggressive pre-snap can be challenging for an offense. The Patriots will have to use motion and compress formations to create space against a defense like this.

The strategy to play this way has paid off as the Bears have statistically been one of the best defenses in the NFL this season.

Chicago’s offense might not be that good but their aggressive defense could give the Patriots some problems tonight.