The score won’t tell the true story of what happened on Sunday. In truth, the Chicago Bears defense played a great game until the end of the third quarter. By then they’d been on the field forever and inevitably wore down to where the Cleveland Browns finally struck for some game-sealing scores. Still, there were plenty of performances to feel good about on that side of the ball. Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack combining for four sacks. Jaylon Johnson continuing to play great coverage. Perhaps the biggest surprise though was Khyiris Tonga.
Nobody really said much when the Bears picked the BYU defensive tackle in the 7th round of the draft. He had a solid run there but it was difficult to know what they had. While he’d often devoured lesser competition, Tonga rarely showcased the same against better blocking. Besides, with Eddie Goldman coming back it was unlikely Tonga would see the field much. Or so everybody thought.
Through three games, Goldman has yet to play a snap.
While frustrating for him and fans, it has presented a great opportunity for the rookie. Through the first two games, he didn’t play much. Just 21 snaps combined. That changed against the Browns where the Bears got him on the field for 29 snaps. He didn’t disappoint. Tonga was active for much of the game, especially in the first half. All told he was credited with five stops, which are tackles for minimal or no gain. Considering he did this against an interior Browns front that features two All-Pros in Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller? Pretty impressive.
Getting this sort of contribution from a 7th round rookie is rare. It is a testament both to Tonga’s talent but also the great job defensive coordinator Sean Desai and defensive line coach Chris Rumph have done getting him ready.
Khyiris Tonga may give the Bears insurance
Not just for this season but moving forward. There is an undercurrent of belief that Goldman isn’t keen on playing football anymore. That is why he is slow in returning from his supposed knee injury. Some even think he is contemplating retirement. In such a case, the Bears would likely look for a way out of his contract by next offseason. Having Tonga emerge as a possible successor at nose tackle would make such a decision easier.
It would also put another feather in the cap of GM Ryan Pace. While the man deserves a lot of the criticism he gets, nobody can argue he has a certain knack for finding quality talent in later rounds of the draft. See Bilal Nichols as a recent example on defense. Khyiris Tonga has enough talent to join that conversation. It was a matter of whether he could learn to handle the jump in competition.
Playing well against one of the best offensive lines in football?
That is encouraging. Now the question is whether the Bears will seek to give him more opportunities. Goldman should return in the near future barring a setback with the knee. Once that happens, it might be challenging to get Tonga snaps. That is unless the Bears wish to ease Goldman in slowly, having not played since the end of 2019.