The Chicago Bears looked great for three quarters against the Minnesota Vikings in their season opener. Unfortunately, the wheels fell off during the final frame as Chicago's defense gave up three consecutive touchdown drives led by Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in what wound up being a 27-24 defeat at Soldier Field.
The Bears will look to right the ship against another NFC North rival this Sunday when they travel to the Motor City for a showdown with the Detroit Lions, and many Chicago fans are wondering if cornerback Kyler Gordon will be in attendance. A key piece in the secondary, Gordon did not practice on Wednesday after missing Week 1 with a hamstring injury, according to the team.
Bears' Kyler Gordon's Hamstring Injury is Becoming a Lingering Issue
One thing that football fans know about hamstring injuries is that they tend to linger. This appears to be the case for Gordon, as his availability for Sunday's game against the Lions is now in question. After signing a three-year, $40 million extension this offseason, Chicago's medical staff is smart to play it safe with Gordon when it comes to his health; however, at some point, he must get back out there and contribute to the team's defensive efforts if he wants to justify that contract.
With Detroit's arsenal of weapons on offense, Chicago will need its defense to be on point from the opening kickoff through the final whistle. Potentially missing Gordon from their secondary for the second consecutive game only makes an already-tall task that much tougher.
Piecing together a unit on the fly that is as important as the secondary is a risky game for any team to play, let alone a team looking to climb its way up the totem pole in arguably the toughest division in football. This is especially true when Gordon's most likely replacement, Nick McCloud, was largely ineffective, as shown by his 43.1 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus in Week 1.
The fact of the matter is that a player who had never started an NFL game made the Bears' defense look lost in crunch time on Monday night. With a showdown on deck against a proven veteran signal-caller in Jared Goff, the final score could be much more lopsided than what fans saw against the Vikings if the Bears cannot bring a better effort on the defensive side of the ball.
It is up to defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to come up with a game plan that will limit the opportunities the Lions have in the vertical passing game while still providing enough help in the box to keep Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery in check.
This would be a tough ask for the Bears if they were at full strength. With a player as important to the defense as Gordon being uncertain to suit up this weekend, it only makes that job more difficult for Allen and the rest of Chicago's defensive coaches.