The Chicago Bears defense was still one of the best in the NFL last season. This despite dealing with a number of key injuries including Akiem Hicks, Roquan Smith, and Danny Trevathan. One of the reasons was their star pass rusher, Khalil Mack. However, a lot of fans were critical of the All-Pro for the rather disappointing 8.5 sacks he posted. Down from the 12.5 he had his first year. There are a variety of factors that went into it.
Hicks going down after just four games was huge. It took away the vital interior presence that allowed Mack to get more single blocks. As a result, he saw near-constant double and triple teams. This because Leonard Floyd couldn’t pick up the slack, finishing with just three sacks on the year himself. In essence, Mack was pretty much by himself and still came close to having double-digit sacks. All this despite rumors he was playing hurt.
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network doesn’t think it will be like that again in 2020. In fact, he expects Mack to have a considerable rebound year. This due to both the return of Hicks and the arrival of Robert Quinn to replace Floyd. How many sacks will he have? Quite a few in Jeremiah’s estimation.
Khalil Mack has never had this much talent around him
Mack is a devastating force by himself. The one thing teams hadn’t been able to do is put top-quality wingmen around him. The best Oakland ever did was Bruce Irvin. Hicks is easily the best he’s played with to date. Now throw Quinn, who has 90 career sacks himself into the mix. This is far and away the best front Mack will play with in his entire career. Keep in mind he had 15 sacks in 2015. Nobody else on the roster had more than four.
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Hicks and Quinn are easily capable of getting eight at least by themselves. Getting 14-15 this year definitely a reachable goal for Mack. He would be the first one to tally more than 13 in a season since Richard Dent had 17 way back in 1985. One thing is for sure. If the Bears get a healthy Mack for most of 2020, there will be a lot of trampled offensive tackles left on the field.