The Chicago Bears are prepping to play their fifth game of 2021 in Las Vegas. A pretty important one against the Raiders. A win gets them over .500 for the first time this season and give them a chance to navigate the hardest part of their schedule without being dealt a knockout. It also appears that events outside Halas Hall might be lending them a hand. In this case on the injury front.
Next week the Bears play the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. While Aaron Rodgers remains the guy, things aren’t going so well for them on defense. They already had to put star pass rusher Za’Darius Smith on injured reserve due to back surgery. Now they’re going to be without All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander as well. He suffered a shoulder injury and went on IR this weekend.
Packers placed CB Jaire Alexander on IR.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 9, 2021
That loss can’t be understated.
Alexander is the lynchpin of that Packers secondary. His ability to lock down opposing receivers is a big reason they’re able to frustrate quarterbacks. With him out of the picture, they’ll have to lean on embattled former starter Kevin King who has a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when throwing in his direction. Not ideal. Yet it doesn’t end there. Another upcoming opponent, the San Francisco 49ers, could be without star tight end George Kittle who was placed on IR with a calf problem. That means rookie Trey Lance might face the Bears without the teams’ best pass target on Halloween.
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49ers placed TE George Kittle, who was listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game vs. Arizona, on injured reserve, sidelining him three games. Team believes he then should be ready to return.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 9, 2021
Last but not least? There is Russell Wilson. The Seattle Seahawks suffered a nightmare scenario on Thursday night against the Rams as their star QB badly injured the middle finger on his throwing hand. It required two procedures to fix including screws. While six weeks was the initial diagnosis, some believe he may not return for most of the regular season. The Bears play the Seahawks on December 26th.
#Seahawks QB Russell Wilson underwent surgery on his injured finger today, source said, a procedure that is expected to keep him out several weeks. Dr. Steven Shin did the procedure, stabilizing his finger with screws.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 8, 2021
Chicago Bears suddenly may have an opportunity
The Raiders are coming off a tough loss to the Chargers last week and now their head coach, Jon Gruden, is embroiled in controversy after an email he sent in 2011 had serious racial overtones. An easy scenario for distraction. Next week the Bears will be at home against a Packers defense down their two best defenders and maybe their two best offensive linemen as well. Then they could get a shot at the 49ers without Kittle.
Good teams would take full advantage of things like this. Are the Chicago Bears a good team? People aren’t entirely sure. While they beat Cincinnati and Detroit, they were blown out by the Rams and Browns. So which team is this? It feels like they haven’t found their identity. This game on Sunday could go a long way in determining this.
A win offers tons of momentum. A loss may derail their entire season.
Going against the Packers at 2-3 with the Buccaneers on deck? They’ve suffered ugly losing streaks multiple times under Matt Nagy the past two years. Four games in 2019 and six games in 2021. While they managed to avoid losing records despite both, this isn’t something they can afford this season. Not with so many jobs seemingly on the line.
