LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Nearing halftime of Chicago's 19-17 win over Minnesota, Bears safety Kevin Byard III kept his eyes locked on quarterback J.J. McCarthy as he backpedaled for 10 yards shy of midfield. When McCarthy stepped up to throw, the second-year quarterback was met head-on by Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
In that moment, Byard was presented with an opportunity for a takeaway. As Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson ran a crossing route to get open for McCarthy's pass, Byard went the opposite direction and plucked the ball out of the air.
The interception, complete with a 23-yard return that set up a field goal drive for the Bears, was Byard's fifth of the season. The 32-year-old safety stands alone as the league leader in interceptions, which marks his first multi-interception season since 2022 when he was with the Titans.
The next day in film study, Byard pulled Jarrett aside and thanked him. Without Jarrett's pressure, Byard might not have added to his season total.
"You don't see it from the field sometimes, but he had a great rush, he had a couple great rushes in the game," Byard said.
Through 11 weeks, Chicago is home to three of the NFL's four interceptions leaders, a stunning feat given the Bears' defense has been without its top two cornerbacks -- Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon -- and lacked a consistent pass rush (29th in pass rush win rate) throughout the season.
Byard is alone at the top of the leaderboard, but not far behind are Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and cornerback Nahshon Wright, who each have four interceptions.
Wright's fourth interception came one drive after Byard's when he used his 6-foot-5 frame to win a 50/50 matchup in the end zone with Minnesota receiver Jordan Addison. Wright was emotional as he knelt with the football and took that moment to honor his late junior college coach, John Beam, who was shot and killed last week.
"It's a credit to those guys that when they do get the ball in their hands, they are bringing it in," coach Ben Johnson said. "That's not a given in this league. You would think it is, but defensive players in general, I've been around a number of them that they do a good job with the pass breakups but not being able to haul it in. They do a great job with their ball skills, being able to make those into interceptions. I think the length of those guys certainly helps, between Shonny and Tremaine in particular."
Wright, who has started nine of 10 games this season because of Johnson's injury, has made his biggest impact immediately following interceptions. The 27-year-old cornerback ranks second with 118 interception return yards, the by-product he says of a drill the Bears have been using since OTAs to complete the defensive play by putting the offense in an even better position once it takes the field on the ensuing possession.
"As soon as we catch the ball, we're looking to score, or if we pick up a fumble, we look to score," Wright said. "So as soon as you catch it, get up to the near numbers and the rest of the guys will make a pathway for whoever's got the ball to score."
Edmunds, who will miss Sunday's game against Pittsburgh with a groin injury, has already tied a career high in interceptions through 10 games. The underlying reason behind his spike in production? Switching from middle to weakside linebacker.
"I think his skill set fits that position in terms of the things that we ask that position to do, the size, the length, the athletic ability," defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "When you're kind of in the middle, there's a lot of communication things that have to occur and you're able to take a little bit of that off his plate. He's a little bit more free to just go play. I think that's been good for him. So, I think he has adjusted to the position switch pretty easily."
The Bears have an NFL-best 22 takeaways and 15 interceptions this season. The goal of four takeaways each game that defensive backs coach Al Harris set the bar at weeks ago is one the team has taken seriously because of the proof in how it has affected their record.
Chicago is 7-1 and has outscored its opponents by 39 points when finishing with at least one takeaway. The Bears are 0-2 in games with zero takeaways this season while being outscored by 45 points in those games.
"Takeaways (have) been the equalizer," Byard said. "It's funny because Ben said, I think in his opening press conference about EPA and passing efficiency (being a critical factor in wins and losses), but I mean, if you look at our team, it's been the takeaways. Obviously, we take care of the ball and that's taking the ball away. It's been helping us win. So that's been our identity."