The Chicago Bears will be facing some tough injuries for their all-important Week 2 showdown with the Detroit Lions on Sunday, but their opponenets also are facing their own problems.
Lions head coach Dan Campbell gave the media an update on his left tackle, Taylor Decker, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. Campbell said while he wants to play, his status is up in the air.
“Well, he’s got a little bit of something here, and so we’re just trying to buy him some time here to where he feels better,” Campbell said via Pro Football Talk. “And then, a lot of it, too, is the luxury of — Decker’s played a lot of football. And so he’ll be ready as long as it feels right. So, we feel good right now. And there, again, we’ve still got another day here and we’ll see. So, I can’t give a definitive yes, but it’s where it’s at.”
What kind of advantage would that be for the Bears to not have Decker playing?
Chicago's pass rush found some success in their 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings as they provided pressure on J.J. McCarthy. The Bears had five quarterback hits and three sacks, with Tanoh Kpassagnon and Dayo Odeyingbo each getting two quarterback hits and one sack.
This will be more of an advantage for guys like Montez Sweat and Odeyingbo, who are the top pass rushers on the team. Without Decker there, that will give them some free openings, whether one of them is double-teamed or creates some one-on-one opportunities.
The Green Bay Packers had even more success rushing the passer on the Lions last week than Chicago did against Minnesota. In their Week 1 27-13 win over the Lions, the Packers had nine quarterback hits and four sacks.
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