Chicago Bears: Three matchups to watch against Redskins

Matchup #2: LBs Khalil Mack & Leonard Floyd vs. Redskins Ts

They’re the glue holding this Bears team together. Unquestionably, the leadership of this team comes from their defense. The face of that defense is their star linebacker, Khalil Mack. He’ll need to show up big on Monday night if the Bears want to win.

While teams do their best to shut him down, Mack has an impact in every game. The Bears pass rush is the team’s biggest strength and something they need to be firing on all cylinders for the team to win consistently.

Mack may get a lot of the attention, but fellow pass-rushing linebacker Leonard Floyd is quietly having a big season. He’s recorded six tackles and two sacks in two games so far this season. He had a potential third sack negated by a defensive penalty in week one.

The Redskins offensive line was the biggest focus of this team going into the season with the Williams holdout. The team signed tackle Donald Penn as his temporary replacement. Despite the drama, the offensive line is performing well so far this year in Washington.

The Redskins have given up just two sacks as a team, even with the offensive line seen as a liability this season. While coach Jay Gruden says the team has to do a better job not allowing quarterback pressures, the team’s problems aren’t because of their blockers.

It’ll be an intriguing matchup to see if the Redskins line can keep that vaunted Bears pressure off Keenum. This will be by far their biggest test of the season.