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Bears are Super Bowl contenders? Believe it — Vikings still auditioning QBs | 1st & North
Jeffery Simmons was everywhere in his Bears debut — six tackles, a sack and a batted ball — and Chicago sits at 6-2 with the third-best Super Bowl odds in the league. The Lions have won three straight but are bracing for life without captain Jack Campbell, who was carted off against Minnesota. Justin Jefferson’s frustration has reached a boiling point as the Vikings’ quarterback situation drags into week nine with the trade deadline a week away. Christian Watson broke a rib, went to the hospital mid-game and came back in the third quarter, while Micah Parsons now has a target date of Thanksgiving Eve.
The Chicago Bears have always weathered the storm. They'll need to do so without one part of their offensive line and a part of their defensive line.
The Bears' trenches took a hit on Wednesday, as two players are likely done for the year and affect the teams' depth going forward.
What we know:
Defensive tackle Kentavious Street was put on injured reserve on Wednesday. He'll likely miss the rest of the season, Johnson said. Left tackle Braxton Jones also had surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the season, too.
As part of their transactions, tight end Stephen Carlson takes Street's place on the active roster. He was signed from the Bears practice squad. The Bears also signed defensive lineman and Northwestern product Earnest Brown IV to the practice squad.
The Bears' trenches took a hit. Adding Jeffery Simmons was a big move that raised the Bears' ceiling. Now, they need to find players that can make them deeper.
Street was a player the Bears lauded in training camp for his mix of speed and strength. He had one sack and three tackles in eight games this season.
The Bears are down Dayo Odeyingbo, but he could return to play as early as two weeks after the team placed him on injured reserve. The Bears will need more from Shemar Turner, Jordan van den Berg and James Lynch in Street and Odeyingbo's place.
On the offensive line, the Bears will have Ozzy Trapilo and Theo Benedet hold the fort at left tackle. However, that position might be in need of some assistance.
What we don't know:
Benedet is a question mark this week.
"We got a few guys that we're going to have to see over the course of the week here whether they'll be available or not," Johnson said.
Johnson mentioned this when talking about running back Kyle Monangai and roped Benedet into that same status right after.
Monangai remains a question mark, just as he has been for the last few weeks.
The Bears' running back has missed the last four games since injuring his toe against the Jets, and it's unclear if he'll practice this week. His status remains up in the air.
Monangai's return would be big for the offense, and big for running back D'Andre Swift.
Swift hasn't busted big runs in the last four games that Monangai has missed, but he has found the end zone seven times in those four games. On Monday night, Swift had a hat trick with three touchdowns.
He's rushed for 234 yards in those four weeks and has averaged 3.2 yards per carry. Johnson appreciates how hard Swift has ran, churning out yardage against bigger fronts that Seattle and New England posed.
Johnson also wants to be mindful of the workload Swift has been getting.
"Certainly he's not a guy we want to wear down, we're going to need him for the full duration of the season," Johnson said. "It's something we monitor."
Johnson said getting Monangai back would be a shot in the arm for the running game. That and the offensive line's talent are two of a few reasons why the Bears expect the run game to get back to its explosive ways.
"We have faced some tough opponents," Johnson said. "Eventually, we'll break through. We're too good up front not to do that."
The Source: Quotes and information are from Ben Johnson's Wednesday press conference.