Tag: Bears Player of the Game

Khalil Mack gets his revenge against Raiders: ‘He made them regret everything’

Khalil Mack reminded everyone why the Raiders made a mistake in trading him.

While Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack might not admit it, Sunday’s game against the Raiders was surely circled on his calendar. In Mack’s second meeting against his former team, he reminded the Raiders why it was a mistake trading him back in 2018.

In Chicago’s 20-9 upset win, Mack recorded a sack, 8 tackles, including 1 tackle for loss, and 1 QB hit. He also added a sack of Derek Carr on a failed two-point conversion attempt, which technically doesn’t count toward the stat sheet. Through five games, Mack has 5 — technically, 6 — sacks, and he’s proving the critics wrong with a strong start to his 2021 NFL season.

Mack’s performance on Sunday was the revenge game he’s been waiting for, especially after his first meeting against his former team back in 2019, when the Raiders held Mack at bay in a win that seemed to derail Chicago’s promising start to the season.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy pointed back to the flight home following the 2019 loss to the Raiders in London as something that stuck with the team, especially Mack.

‘‘I don’t care what anybody says, you remember that,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘[Mack] was part of that, and he understands that. I think all of our guys . . . it’s the mindset of making sure our guys know that we weren’t coming in here to play; this was going to be a fight. He knew that.

‘‘And so Khalil’s in a leadership role to make sure other guys see how he plays in this moment.’’

While his first game against his former team didn’t go as planned, Mack reminded everyone why the Raiders made a mistake in trading him and why he remains one of the NFL’s most fearsome defenders.

‘‘He made them regret everything,’’ said safety Eddie Jackson. ‘‘Made them regret not wanting to keep him. You know, Mack’s our leader. He’s had games like this. We fuel off that.’’

Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn revived Bears’ pass rush vs. Browns

Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn were a force to be reckoned with against the Browns, which is why they’re Bears Wire’s Players of the Game.

The Chicago Bears defense spent most of Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns on the field, with Chicago’s offense unable to gain yards yet alone sustain drives. But despite the extended action on the field, the Bears’ top edge rushers were dominant.

Our Bears players of the game are edge rushers Khalil Mack and Robert Quinn, who combined for 3.5 sacks against the Browns. This was the kind of performance fans had been waiting for since last offseason when Chicago added Quinn, who was coming off a 10.5-sack season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Mack led the Bears with 2.0 sacks and Quinn wasn’t far behind with 1.5. Mack and Quinn have combined for 6.0 sacks through the first three games.

Quinn has now recorded at least 0.5 sack in his third straight game this season, and he currently leads the Bears with 4.0 sacks through three games. Mack, who had 9.0 sacks last season, already has 3.0 sacks through the first three weeks.

New defensive coordinator Sean Desai has had Mack and Quinn rushing side-by-side on obvious passing downs, as opposed to lining up on opposite ends of the line last season.

“It seems to give offenses a headache,” Quinn said. “Who are they going to double-team? … So I think it’s just a nice little change up every now and again to give the offense some problems. But we gotta make sure it’s effective and make sure it can affect the game in a good way.”

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Bears LB Roquan Smith set the tone for the defense in Week 2 vs. Bengals

Roquan Smith had a dominant showing against the Bengals, where he had a sack and pick-6, which is why he’s Bears Wire’s Player of the Game.

The Chicago Bears defense rebounded in a big way with a dominant showing against the Cincinnati Bengals, where they forced four consecutive turnovers en route to a 20-17 win to give the Bears their first win of the season.

Our Bears player of the game is linebacker Roquan Smith, who continues to prove he’s one of the best linebackers in the NFL. Smith had 8 total tackles, 1.0 sack and an interception of Joe Burrow, which he returned 53 yards for a touchdown to give the Bears a 14-3 lead in the fourth quarter.

“Best linebacker in the game — and I tell him that,” Bears safety Tashaun Gipson said. “I’ve been saying that since last year. Having a guy like that makes it easy. He’s just a phenomenal player. He can run like a DB. Hit like a linebacker. He can cover like a DB. I don’t have enough good things to say about Roquan. And he’s turned into a leader. A lot of people don’t realize how young he is. I’m just happy he’s on my team.”

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Bears’ Jesper Horsted made strong case for roster spot vs. Titans

Jesper Horsted balled out against the Titans, where he helped his roster chances, which is why he’s Bears Wire’s Player of the Game.

The Chicago Bears closed out the preseason with a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, where there were a handful of players looking to earn roster spots. But there was one in particular who might’ve just made the roster with his performance against the Titans.

Our Bears player of the game is tight end Jesper Horsted, who scored three touchdowns in his push to make the 53-man roster. Horsted led the Bears in receiving with five catches for 104 yards.

Horsted’s first touchdown was a beautiful back shoulder pass from Justin Fields, where Horsted made a great catch. He also caught two passes from Nick Foles, including a one-handed grab in the fourth quarter that sealed Chicago’s win over Tennessee.

“This is Year 3 and it feels great to be comfortable in the offense and not have to be out there thinking about my responsibilities,” Horsted told reporters. “I have great chemistry with all the quarterbacks from previous years and training camp, and I just felt very comfortable out there today and I think it showed.”

Horsted made a strong case for a roster spot with his performance in the preseason finale. But he knows it’s no guarantee.

“It’s just going to be kind of a waiting game,” Horsted said. “There’s a lot of really good people who flashed great film this camp, so I’m always competing against them. I feel like I played my best today, so [I’ll] just wait and see what Tuesday at 3 o’clock brings me.”

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