"Who are you blocking? The return of Khalil Mack and the rise of Akiem Hicks have been tough for Bears' opponents



[ad_1]

A video search of Khalil Mack's strengths is likely to become a staple of the next day for observers looking for a good laugh at Bears' opponents.

Last week, in the Lions victory, it was Mack who managed a Superman jump after the Lions left tackle, Taylor Decker, to defeat quarterback Matthew Stafford.

This week, in the Bears '25-20 win against the Vikings on Sunday night, Mack rips the ball from the Vikings' backhand Dalvin Cook, then makes his way to recover the breakaway under a pile of at least four players.

"He was trying to get the game out of the block, reaching the ball, grabbing it and seeing it still floating in front of my face," said Mack. "I had no arms, so I had to get by a little bit. … it was a dog fight. I arrived there first, but I had to make sure to get it.

One night when the Bears defense was playing everywhere on the field, Mack continued to show that he was back after two games away, due to a sprained right ankle and two breathtaking feats.

His forced fumble was his fifth-best league lead of the season and stopped the Vikings in the top ten of the 14-yard Bears.

"You have to understand situational football, and we could not let them score the goal," Mack said.

Mack also had a quarterback bag of Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, his eighth of the year. Another star video shows Mack pushing left tackle Riley Reiff with one arm

"What he's doing there does not surprise me because I look at him for years in Oakland doing the same thing," said defender Akiem Hicks. "The inverted tackles. Who do this? And he gets some bags, so it's pretty cool.

The combination of Hicks and Mack has proven deadly for the Vikings. Hicks also had a bag and five tackles for a loss. Next-generation statistics from the NFL have calculated 15 interruptions between Mack and Hicks, the largest number of NFL defensive duo defenders in Sunday's games.

"Who are you blocking?" Hicks said. You block Leonard Floyd? You block Eddie Goldman? Are you blocking Akiem or Khalil? Who will you block? That's the question we want every offense to solve. "

Two-point plan: Bears coach Matt Nagy said he had spoken to kicker Cody Parkey before Sunday's game to let him know the Bears could attempt a two-point conversion rather than an extra point when they scored a touchdown. the Vikings.

"Whenever you are honest with people, it is so easy to do what you do because you are real with them," said Nagy. "You tell them exactly how you feel, and everyone knows the plan."

Nagy said Monday that the decision to get two points after the Bears' two touchdowns was a combination of Parkey's tough defeat a week ago – when he made his way four times in two extra point attempts and two placement attempts – and Nagy's tendency to be aggressive.

The Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky hit with Josh Bellamy and Adam Shaheen with passes to score two points each time.

"Given what happened the week before, considering that I like to go for two times if we can and that our staff loved our parts here, that's exactly what we did," he said. Nagy. "It worked, it does not always work, and you have to make sure you get two out of three."

Injury report: The Bears will not train until Tuesday, but they still had an injury report on Monday. Shaheen and linebacker Aaron Lynch participate in the concussion protocol. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky was injured in the right shoulder.

Lions running back Kerryon Johnson, who had 51 yards on 14 carries in his first encounter with the Bears, is expected to miss Thursday's game with a knee sprain, according to reports. Johnson racked up 87 yards in the Lions 20-19 win over the Panthers on Sunday.

"He was really starting to become an effective runner," said Nagy. "But they have some great runners out there. We'll see if Kerryon Johnson plays or not, but they have good players there and they showed it against Carolina. "

[email protected]

Twitter @ChiTribKane

Bears Rewind: By creating a road map for Jordan Howard, the Bears ground game is able to provide the balance that Vikings lacked. "

The perfect evening of Cody Parkey and Vikings after the difficult week "

When the game is played: Eddie Jackson makes soft music the decisive first choice »

[ad_2]
Source link