After having their four-game winning streak snapped last week at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, the Chicago Bears will take on another AFC North team, the Cincinnati Bengals, in Week 9.
The Bears enter this weekend’s matchup as slight road favorites, as the Bengals haven’t had the best season due to poor play and injuries on both sides of the ball. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Bengals will be without linebacker Shaka Heyward (h/t @RapSheet), who suffered a hairline fracture in his fibula and will be out for four weeks.
In addition to that injury, the Bengals will likely be missing two key starters on defense, which is great news for the Bears’ offense. On Thursday, ESPN’s Ben Baby reported that star defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip) and linebacker Logan Wilson (calf) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Trey Hendrickson, Logan Wilson Miss 2nd Straight Practice Heading into Week 9 Matchup vs. Bears
The 30-year-old Hendrickson has been bothered by a hip injury that he initially suffered in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers. The star pass rusher did not play the following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7, and only saw 23 snaps in last week’s loss to the New York Jets.
Chicago possibly not having to deal with Hendrickson is terrific news for its offensive line, which only allowed one sack last week to the Ravens. However, they’re still trying to work and develop first-year lineman Theo Benedet, who is starting at left tackle over Braxton Jones, who was just placed on injured reserve.
Last week against the Ravens, Benedet had a 71.7 pass block and a 67.6 run block grade, per Pro Football Focus. Without Hendrickson on the field, the Bears should be able to give quarterback Caleb Williams a clean pocket to throw from.
Meanwhile, if Wilson doesn’t play, the Bears should look to get their tight ends involved often in the passing game. This season, Cincinnati’s defense has allowed the most receiving yards (594), touchdowns (10), and targets (80) to the position.
Chicago has struggled to get rookie TE Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet both on the same page in the passing game. In last week’s loss to the Ravens, Loveland had his best performance to date with three receptions (five targets) for 38 yards. Kmet missed last week’s contest with a back injury, but the hope is that he can suit up, as both guys need a breakout game in the worst way.
Needless to say, the Bengals' injury situation is something that Bears fans will closely track in the coming days.