With the Bears’ slim playoff hopes on the line, Khalil Mack and the defense need a huge finish to the regular season, starting with Thursday night’s game against the Cowboys at Soldier Field.
And while the wear and tear of a 16-game NFL season is working against them, Mack and the Bears’ defense have a couple of factors in their favor: linebacker Roquan Smith is playing at a high level and picking up steam after a mid-season lull; and defensive end Akiem Hicks is on schedule to return next week against the Packers.
While Mack makes everyone around him better, elite playmakers make Mack better. And with Smith in a funk earlier after missing the Vikings game for a personal issue and Hicks out since Week 5 with a dislocated left elbow he suffered against the Raiders in London, Mack’s production has dropped.
An energized Smith and a healthy Hicks bode well for Mack, whose numbers are good but not great — 6 1/2 sacks, five forced fumbles, five tackles-for-loss, four pass break-ups and no interceptions this season. Though the defense is not a major culprit in the Bears’ 6-6 season, the pressure is on Mack to step up in the final month and make a difference.
Mack has played in every game this season after missing two games last year (and being hampered by an ankle injury in two others). He has played 750 snaps in 12 games — on a pace for an even 1,000. That’s more than he played last season (755), but fewer than he’s played in his four previous seasons in the NFL with the Raiders, when he averaged 1,057 snaps per season.
“You [don’t have] a choice but to be 100 percent,” Mack said. “Mentally, that’s going to be huge for everybody at this point. [I’m] just looking forward to the challenge. It’s not really making [any] excuses about this and that. Just going out and looking to get a win.”
Mack has a history of staying power in his five previous NFL seasons. In fact, he has 21 1/2 sacks in 24 regular-season games in December/January.
And with Smith playing better each game, Mack figures to have his opportunities. Smith had 15 tackles and two sacks against the Lions on Thanksgiving Day.
“He plays with a chip on his shoulder,” Mack said of Smith. “It’s a beautiful thing. I heard him talking a little bit last game and I never heard him talk like that before. So he needs to keep doing it.”
With dependable linebacker Danny Trevathan out for the fourth consecutive game with an elbow injury, Smith’s emergence has given the Bears an added boost.
“It’s huge,” Mack said. “Like I say, when he plays well, we play well as a defense. I’m looking forward to see what he does Thursday.”
The Bears have long-shot playoff hopes. But if they can beat the Cowboys on Thursday night — they are three-point underdogs at home — the expected return of Hicks against the Packers on Dec. 15 at Lambeau Field figures to stoke this defense and breathe life into an impossible dream.
“It’s always fun when you’ve got Mufasa out there,” Mack said of the 6-5, 332-pound Hicks. “I call him Mufasa. That’s my guy. Real special player. Not only that, he’s a real special person. Just having him around … was huge. But having him on the field was even more huge.”
