The Chicago Bears hope to be at full strength when they play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday evening. Heading into last week’s game against the Green Bay Packers, the Bears were without defenders C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, and Amen Ogbongbemiga.
Johnson, Tryon-Shoyinka, and Ogbongbemiga were all ruled out with concussions. Thankfully, the Bears did not need them as they pulled off an incredible fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Packers.
However, the Rams are a much better team on both sides of the ball than Green Bay, so the Bears must have everyone who can play ready to go. On Wednesday, Chicago received great news regarding the injury status of those three players.
The Bears announced that Gardner-Johnson, Tryon-Shoyinka, and Ogbongbemiga were all full participants, with the caveat that Wednesday’s practice was a walk-through.
That said, Bears fans are excited to hear this news, especially considering that the team lost TJ Edwards last week to a fractured fibula, and Nick McCloud popped up on the injury report with a groin injury and was ruled as a DNP.
Bears' Injury Luck Starting to Turn a Corner Right Before Rams Game
If McCloud can’t go on Sunday night, Gardner-Johnson is the perfect option to step in to give the Bears another versatile defender to throw at Matthew Stafford and the Rams.
Last week vs. Green Bay, McCloud played 20 defensive snaps with Gardner-Johnson sidelined, even though Kyler Gordon returned to the field after not playing since Black Friday. According to Pro Football Focus, McCloud had a 55.3 coverage grade and a 64.5 run defense grade.
While he wasn’t targeted much (one time) in last week’s win, Bears fans know that McCloud is a liability in pass coverage, and they would rather take their chances with Gardner-Johnson, who can create a turnover and be utilized as a blitzer.
Meanwhile, Ogbongbemiga should give the Bears more depth at linebacker and on special teams, which they need with Edwards sidelined. D’Marco Jackson will now have a bigger role on defense, meaning Ogbongbemiga and Jalen Reeves-Maybin will have to do the dirty work on special teams.
Lastly, Tryon-Shoyinka has been a non-factor during his short Bears’ tenure, but having him in the defensive line rotation after missing the last two games will give Dennis Allen another option to throw at Stafford.
The Bears’ defense only sacked Jordan Love once last week. That won’t get it done against this prolific passing attack. They must put more pressure on Stafford if they want to beat the Rams and punch their ticket to the NFC Championship Game.