ATLANTA — Throughout the summer standoff between the Bears and cornerback Kyler Gordon, there was always an underlying sense that they needed him. The defense came into this season with major question marks, and if Gordon was healthy enough to get on the field, he’d be an answer.
He was electric Sunday in his season debut, even while playing a limited role as he continued to work back into game shape. He charged up a defense that had gotten smacked around the week before and starred in the Bears’ 31-23 victory over the Falcons.
Gordon was dangerous on his very first snap, then ended the Falcons’ shot at a comeback when he drilled quarterback Michael Penix for his third sack with three minutes left. Penix fumbled, and linebacker Devin Bush recovered the ball at the Falcons’ 28-yard line to seal the win.
NFL records showed Gordon to be the first defensive back ever to get three sacks and force two fumbles in a game. He might have gotten four sacks if Falcons running back Bijan Robinson hadn’t committed a holding penalty to stop him from reaching Penix on the second-to-last play.
It was an incredible, vindicating performance — “Everything I wanted,” he called it — for someone who had his name dragged through the mud over the past two seasons as four separate soft-tissue injuries kept him out.
“That’s just the nature of the world,” Gordon said. “I’ve got a pretty closed circle, so I don’t really hear things unless my friends tell me. On to the next.”
He took the high road, and most of his comments were pointed toward the future rather than rehashing the friction that built up at Halas Hall over the last few months.
General manager Ryan Poles said going into the season he didn’t know if Gordon would play again for the Bears, and coach Ben Johnson turned stern and wouldn’t say more than a couple words at a time about Gordon while he rehabbed.
Gordon wouldn’t answer whether he and the team now are on the same page about his health and training regimen, telling reporters to ask Johnson, and laughed to himself when Poles’ comment was mentioned.
“I can’t control what someone else says,” Gordon said. “I’m going to go out there and do my job to my best ability.”
Johnson couldn’t say enough about how he played Sunday.
He gave him a game ball in the locker room and said something indiscernible as he hugged him. He marveled at how much of an impact Gordon made despite the coaching staff limiting his on-field time — roughly 10-15 plays — as he returned from injury.
Gordon missed all of training camp and began the season on the physically unable-to-perform list, but has been practicing for close to three weeks. Johnson asked Saturday if he was ready to play, and he answered emphatically.
“He said, ‘Absolutely,’ and he sure enough was,” Johnson said. “Huge spark for us. He’s so twitchy, he’s very hard to block as a blitzer, tight in coverage.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep him on that right track. Those snaps he had were huge ones for us.”
Gordon made his season debut a few minutes into the second quarter at nickel on a third-and-four, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had him locked and loaded for a blitz. When the Falcons handed off to Robinson, Gordon was in perfect position to dive at him for a one-yard loss.
He showed up again on blitzes twice in the third quarter.
On one play, raced untouched on Penix’s blindside to hit him as he threw from his own 2-yard line and force a fumble. On another, he fought through Falcons tight end Charlie Woerner to take down Penix as he tried to step up in the pocket.
“It was [like] a movie,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “He came back after all the talk, all the chatter, worked his ass off and balled.”
When asked about Gordon getting more sacks Sunday than he’d had over his entire career, Johnson said, “He’s the best [nickel] in the league at it. He just has a different knack for the game.”
Gordon is just the 21st player in franchise history to get three sacks in a game and the first since former Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn in 2021.
The Bears needed everything he gave them as their 31-7 lead slipped into a one-score game near the end.
They actually pulled their defensive starters with that lead in the fourth quarter in order to preserve them for their game Thursday against the Patriots, but had to send them back out. The Falcons scored a touchdown against the backups to make it 31-15, then scored again after running back Roschon Johnson lost a fumble with seven minutes left.
Penix’s late drives pushed his passer rating to 108.8 for the game, but the Bears accomplished their top objective by managing Robinson. Between jumping out to a 14-0 lead and some timely stops, they held the NFL’s leading rusher to 61 yards on nine carries.
Allen’s defense seemed to be turning the corner before the debacle at Lambeau Field last week, but maybe that game was an aberration in its overall trajectory. And if Gordon truly is back for good, he’ll accelerate its surge.
