Jarrett gives update on knee injury, says defensive issues are "fixable"

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 2 hours ago

CHICAGO - Defense was lacking in Chicago’s game against the Detroit Lions. The Chicago defense allowed 52 points, which included seven touchdowns - five in the air and two on the ground.

There were several areas where the defense could have improved, but defensive lineman Grady Jarrett said the defense will learn from this game.

“Definitely know that we could have done better and (that is) something that we (are) going to use to push us forward as the season (continues) to go and we’re not going to let this moment define us,” Jarrett said. “We’re going to use it as we’re going to find the positives in it and learn from the things that really got us to that point and after reviewing the film, a lot of the things are fixable, if not everything, and it’s really wasn’t that difficult to find out what the problem was. (We) just got to execute better at a higher level and we can fix it.”

They will have to make repairs in a hurry. Chicago’s next game is against the Dallas Cowboys on Sun. Sept. 21 (3:25 p.m. / FOX). Dallas just put up 41 points, although their defense did allow 37 points against the New York Giants. Therefore, this could be an opportunity for the offense to get things going.

The offense needs to get things going for obvious reasons. They have struggled after the opening drive in both games this year. Chicago lost the turnover battle against Detroit and have struggled in the run game. Running back D’Andre Swift does not seem like he is the long-term solution at running back without someone else to complement him. Perhaps rookie back Kyle Monangai will step up as the season goes on.

However, the offense may also need to step up to compensate for the injuries on defense. Linebacker T.J. Edwards and cornerback Kyler Gordon have yet to play this season and head coach Ben Johnson said both players are week-to-week, which definitely puts their status for the Dallas game in question. All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson also suffered an injury against the Lions, and it is unclear how long he will be out.

Going into this game, Jarrett was also on the injury report with a knee injury. Although he was able to go, this seems like an injury that could linger throughout the season. This would be concerning for any player.

However, for a player of 32 years old, this may be something to keep an eye on, although Jarrett maintains that his knee is fine and he is accustomed to dealing with injuries during the season.

“Knee is doing well. Obviously, when you’re dealing with injuring during the season sometime and (you) can’t beat the healing clock. But, you could do things, treat, mitigate,” Jarrett said. “But at the end of the day when the game day come, I’ll be ready to roll and get my best foot forward. So, not my first rodeo dealing with some in-season mishaps and just got to do what I got to do (until) I get all the way back at 100.”

Going against Dallas could also help to get Jarrett going. In his 11-year career, Jarrett has faced the Cowboys six different times. Between those six games, he has recorded a forced fumble, a sack and multiple tackles for loss. That is the kind of defensive performance Chicago needs out of Jarrett and other players on the defensive line.