Chicago Bears: Midseason Edge Rusher review

BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 04: Aaron Lynch #99 of the Chicago Bears celebrates his sack of Nathan Peterman #2 of the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter during NFL game action at New Era Field on November 4, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - NOVEMBER 04: Aaron Lynch #99 of the Chicago Bears celebrates his sack of Nathan Peterman #2 of the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter during NFL game action at New Era Field on November 4, 2018 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

How has the Chicago Bears edge rusher position looked in the 2018 season?

As the Chicago Bears reach the halfway point it is a good chance to stop and look back at where the team currently sits. Have these players met expectations and are they in line to exceed these expectations moving forward? Today, we look at edge rushers.

Khalil Mack was on pace to the be the defensive player of the year through four weeks. However, Mack suffered an injury in Week Five, was a non-factor in week six and did not play in the last two games.

Despite that he is still on pace for 10 sacks, just a half sack behind his career high. Mack came into the season with nine career forced fumbles, and has four in six games this year. His pressure numbers are down overall, but the injury obviously has a lot to do with that.

The fact of the matter is that through four games, there was nobody better in the NFL. In the last four games, he has hardly made an impact at all. He should have a strong second half in sights, but was not elite though eight weeks because of this.

Grade: B+

Floyd has not put up a single sack all season. Every pressure metric across the board is down. However, for the most part he has been asked to play a different role. He has not only played more in coverage, but also played more as a contain man. This will impact sack numbers.

Still, even Matt Nagy said Floyd has been pressing a bit too hard to get that sack number off of 0. It is impacting his play a bit and we are not getting the best of Floyd. Floyd caught a break with a pick six on Sunday. We will see if that is able to relieve some of the pressure and get him back to basics on the football field.

Grade: D

Remember in the summer when Aaron Lynch never did anything in training camp and we thought he might end up being cut. That was fun. Now, he is on pace for six sacks which would be right behind his career high of 6.5. His six tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hits are not anywhere near his career numbers, but he has still been effective at getting the quarterback on the ground.

As a rotational pass rusher, this all you can ask for. With Floyd doing less pass rushing, and Mack on the sideline someone had to step up. Credit to Lynch for taking that call and stepping up to the challenge.

Grade: A 

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