Sacks, forced fumbles, and tackles for loss: Montez Sweat details his turnaround, transforming the Bears' defense and disrupting opposing offenses.
Chicago Bears edge rusher Montez Sweat has been a problem for opposing quarterbacks lately.
That was nothing new on Sunday, as he got not one, but two sacks in the 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Soldier Field. He had three total tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble and three tackles for loss.
One of his sacks of backup quarterback Mason Rudolph resulted in a crucial fumble late in the third quarter that was recovered by the Bears on the Chicago 46-yard line.
After Sunday's game, Sweat now leads the Bears with 7.5 sacks. While he has been on fire lately, accounting for at least one sack in five of his last six outings, it wasn't that way early in the season.
In the first fives games of 2025, he struggled to effect the passer, and only had one sack. When asked about what has changed since the bye week, Sweat answered that he has taken more advantage of his opportunities.
"I think I'm just taking advantage of my opportunities," Sweat said. "Early in the season, I felt like I was playing good ball, but the stats are starting to come through for me. It's a blessing, but we've still got a lot left on the table to get cleaned up."
On top of his sacks, Sweat also has 35 total tackles, 11 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.
It's great too see Chicago having a consistent pass rush, because that is not something that the team has been able to do very efficiently this season. Even with Sweat's efforts in Week 12, the Bears still rank 20th in the NFL in sacks with 23 on the year.
Sweat is in the third year of a four-year, $98 million contract with the Bears, via Spotrac. He spent the majority of his NFL career with the Washington Commanders. He was traded to the Bears halfway through the 2023 season.
Sweat made the Pro Bowl that season despite switching teams, and still finished with 12.5 sacks, 57 total tackles, three forced fumbles and 14 tackles for loss.
Washington took him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State. Sweat had six sacks in 2023 and 5.5 last season. It he keeps this production up, he may set a new career high in sacks or get close.
Sweat and the Bears take on the Philadelphia Eagles next, on Black Friday. The Eagles have allowed the 14th-most sacks this season at 26. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. CT.