The Chicago Bears are 5-3. Nothing about it was easy. They started 0-2, looking dead in the water after that disaster in Detroit. Then they delivered four straight victories before a frustrating loss in Baltimore against backup Tyler Huntley. Facing a do-or-die situation in Cincinnati, they overcame special teams blunders and a toothless defense to take down the Bengals 47-42. While it was the type of win that builds character for a team, it also came at a price. Dayo Odeyingbo, one of their starting defensive ends, tore his Achilles. He will miss the rest of the season. It certainly puts Ben Johnson and his staff behind the eight ball.
He admitted the injury misfortune has been the story of the Bears' season to this point. Every time it looks like things are looking up, something else goes wrong.
"Yeah, I mean it's one of those deals. It feels like we take some strides in particular positions and we take some steps back, you know, it's wild. Felt like we had a solution there with Shemar (Turner) at defensive end a couple weeks ago, and then we lost him, and then finally get (Austin) Booker back, and then we lose Dayo. So it's a little bit of give and take."
That leaves the obvious question.
What do the Bears do now? They are down three defensive ends, with two done for the year. Two of their three starting cornerbacks are currently on injured reserve. It is a bleak situation. Johnson was asked if the Bears might consider seeking help on the trade market. His answer was telling.
"You can never have too many pass rushers. You can never have too many cover players in the back end, either. So, that's how I've always felt since I've been in this league. I know Ryan and his crew; they've been doing their due diligence all throughout the fall, you know, all the way up until tomorrow, to make sure that we're turning over every stone to make sure that if there's a way we can improve this roster, we'll do that."
Ben Johnson knows his team needs help.
He's not naive. Making the playoffs is almost impossible for the Bears if the defense continues to give up 30+ points every week. At the same time, they must be responsible with their assets. Chicago only has seven picks in next year's draft. They can't give those away in trades that may only provide short-term benefits. That is why the likeliest outcome is a trade involving a late round pick for some depth help. Finding starters this time of year is difficult and often expensive.
Ben Johnson knows reinforcements will be arriving in the next few weeks. Kyler Gordon will return from IR. Jaylon Johnson should as well. If they can grab a decent pass rusher to rotate with Booker and Montez Sweat, things should be okay. All the Bears have to do is survive long enough for those guys to get back. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
