On the surface, it wasn’t hard to see why the Chicago Bears liked Robert Quinn. He’s a natural pass rusher of top tier talent. One who had 11.5 sacks in 2019 and could’ve had a few more with a little more luck. Giving him $30 million in guaranteed money to pair with Khalil Mack seemed like a no brainer. To say nothing of Akiem Hicks being between them.
However, upon closer inspection, there might’ve been a little extra incentive for the Bears to target him specifically. Quinn seems to save his best games for matchups with their NFC North rivals. Whether it’s coincidence or fate, it is the truth. Check out these numbers.
Since 2017, Quinn has faced the Packers, Lions, and Vikings a total of seven times between his stints in Dallas, Miami, and Los Angeles. He has 5.5 sacks in those games. Not counting his several other pressures. His favorite target appeared to be Kirk Cousins, who the pass rusher dropped once in both of their meetings in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Aaron Rodgers was close behind with 1.5 sacks.
Robert Quinn truly is just a better version of Leonard Floyd
The great irony here is that Quinn was brought in to replace Leonard Floyd. The former 9th overall pick wasn’t good for much when it came to rushing the passer. Still, the one thing he managed was showing up against the NFC North. Of the 18.5 sacks he had across four seasons in Chicago, 11.5 were against division rivals. So it’s nice to see Quinn should be able to keep that trend alive.
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The key difference will be that he should be able to bring that rush outside the division as well. Too often Floyd disappeared against other opponents. It made life much harder for Mack and Hicks to pick up the slack. Quinn is dangerous regardless of who he’s facing. Here is hoping he stays healthy. If that trio can stay on the field together most of the season, it will be devastating.