The shortened week may cost the Chicago Bears a big game, in which they are trying to stay in the playoff hunt. the Bears will head into a Thanksgiving Morning game with injuries on both sides of the ball.
Brian de la Puente has been placed on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury. He has played the role of super-utility man on the offensive line all season. He filled in for Roberto Garza at center and has stepped in for Matt Slauson at left guard most recently.
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Luckily for the Bears, right tackle Jordan Mills looks like he may return to the lineup after missing the last 2 games. Micheal Ola will move to the left guard spot.
On defense Lance Briggs will miss the game with a groin injury which he suffered in the week 12 game vs Tampa Bay. Jeremiah Ratliff is doubtful with a knee injury. Well now that a key injury is on the linebacking corps and defensive line, of course there is one in the secondary. Kyle Fuller is Questionable with a knee injury as well.
These are a couple of huge injuries that will test the Bears depth, especially against one of the top defenses in the league and an always-tough offense.
Calvin Johnson seems to be the biggest mismatch against the Bears. If Fuller can not play, we would see Tim Jennings covering Megatron for most of the game. Johnson holds a 9 inch height advantage. Nine inches! If there was ever a game for Demontre Hurst to bust out, its this one.
While Fuller could be a big loss, Briggs may not be. Briggs is currently 34 years old. He also has not had a good season. Age is catching up to him and it’s time for a new regime at linebacker. Looks for lots of Christian Jones and Jon Bostic come Thursday.