Byard on playing Matthew Stafford, not getting frustrated with Bears offense |
CHICAGO - In the final two minutes of Chicago’s loss against the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears needed a stop by the defense. Usually, this is no problem but in that game, the Bears defense was not able to contain Indianapolis’ running back, Jonathan Taylor, who rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Now, after three weeks of going against quarterbacks with minimal NFL experience, the Bears will face one of the oldest active quarterbacks in the league, Matthew Stafford. Stafford is incredibly familiar with Chicago after playing for the Detroit Lions for 12 years. In the 21 games he has played against the Bears, Stafford has been victorious in 12 of those matchups, throwing 35 touchdowns and 23 interceptions. His 23 interceptions against the Bears are the most he has against any opponent in his career. Safety Kevin Byard and the rest of the Bears defense will hope to get a few more picks this coming Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams (Noon / FOX). “We know Matt Stafford is one of the most talented quarterbacks in this league. He has a really strong arm. He can make all the throws. I’ve actually played against him a couple of times. He’s actually done some no-look throws in the game, which is pretty impressive. Very smart, very savvy guy, going to get their offense into the right play as many times as he can, and obviously, we all know Sean McVay,” Byard said. “He’s a wizard when it comes to play calling and things like that. So, we’re going to be going up against an experienced head coach and quarterback combo. So, we have to be ready for everything. I think just as our defense, we have to make sure we’re just playing sound, fundamentally sound, football.” Los Angeles allowed 425 total yards against the San Francisco 49ers last week yet came out of the game with a 27-24 victory, which was their first win of the season. Clearly, the Bears will not be able to escape the Rams without being productive on offense. In the first 11 quarters of the season, the offense, led by rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, struggled mightily, only scoring one touchdown. In the fourth quarter against the Colts, however, Williams led the Bears on two touchdown drives. So, this could be a promising sign that the offense is finally starting to gel. Nonetheless, they cannot continue to have costly turnovers as Williams has five turnovers over the last two games. For some defensive players, they would be pointing fingers at the offense. However, Byard is not one of those players, and as a captain of the Bears, he will not let the Chicago defense have that mentality. “At the end of the day, this is a professional football league, and we all get paid to do a job. I get paid to play safety for the Chicago Bears and I have to make sure I continue to do that job. It can be frustrating at times because we want to win. Everybody wants to win,” Byard said. “But, it’s not a pointing the finger type of deal. Sometimes, emotions are shown. But at the end of the day, we have to continue to do our job because I’ve been in situations in this league where the offense has been struggling, and they get the ball rolling, and once everything is rolling, we can make a real run. So, we just have to continue to do what we need to do (to) try to win ball games and that’s what it’s got to be until things change. But until then, we have to continue to do our jobs and try to make sure that we’re just locked in on that.”
