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Coach Matt Nagy has had his team's unity and focus on this week's Bears attempt to avoid a winless October. Faced with their first losing streak of the season.
The Bears still need to be sharper in all three phases than they were in last week's home to the Patriots. Seahawks and Buccaneers, this is a take-care-of-business-game that the Bears should be able to handle.
With that in mind, here are our three keys for Sunday's game.
1. Picks the poison.
Pregame analysis: No quarterback has thrown more interceptions this season than Jets rookie Sam Darnold, who has 10 in his first six NFL starts. No defense has been selected with the Bears with 11. Bottom line: There are some significant opportunities for Vic Fangio's secondary to create tide-turning takeaways, especially against a depleted Jets receiving body that will be without Quincy Enunwa (high ankle sprain) . The Bears will have to keep Robby Anderson from beating them on deep balls. But with a little pressure on Darnold and reliable coverage on the back end, the total interception season should tick upward once again. Said Bears Safety Eddie Jackson: "We know we're going to have some chances. … We really need to stop the running game and put the ball in (Darnold's)
2. Minimize Jamal Adams.
pregame analysis: The second-year safety is an ascending playmaker trying to bring life to a middle-of-the-road Jets defense. Adams is fast. He's athletic. He can really hit. Jets coach Todd Bowles sees the youngster's nose for the ball. Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky was part of the same draft class as Adams, who was selected No. 6 in 2016. So Trubisky has an appreciation for Adams' sense of humor. This week, though, the quarterback Bears is more concerned with Adams' versatility and instincts. "Always around the ball, always making tackles," Trubisky said. "He leads the league in safety pressures, so he's going to be in the backfield. … He's a ballhawk. He's going to get after the ball and try to cause havoc. "
3. Attack mode.
pregame analysis: The Jets rank 26th in the league in sack rate (5.28 percent), which means that Trubisky should have plenty of time to get comfortable in the pocket. That's the good news. The better news: the Jets secondary is a mess. Cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson (quadriceps), Morris Claiborne (shoulder, foot) and Buster Skrine (concussion) are battling injuries. So is safety Marcus Maye (ankle). The Jets will send a wide variety of blitzes at Trubisky, making it imperative that the Bears are sharp with their pre-snap recognition and communication. Still, Trubisky must keep himself in an aggressive mindset – Trey Burton, Tarik Cohen, Gabriel Taylor, Anthony Miller – who can create favorable matchups and big plays.
Twitter @danwiederer
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