The Chicago Bears' defense has been able to do just enough this season to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The reward is a rubber match with the Green Bay Packers in a Wild Card game on Saturday night, but that doesn’t mean the unit hasn’t had its share of warts.
The secondary has been shaky, especially as the Bears wrapped up the season with a loss to the Detroit Lions, and another concern has been the play of the linebacker position. With Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards underperforming, a slew of injuries, and the disappearance of rookie Ruben Hyppolite, the Bears had another concern thrown on the pile when Amen Ogbongbemiga was added to the injury report on Tuesday with a concussion, per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.
The injury puts the Bears at a crisis stage entering Saturday’s game against the Packers, and potentially another reason why the offense will have to carry the load.
Amen Ogbongbemiga Injury Throws Another Wrench Into Bears’ LB Room
The Bears' linebacker position has been in turmoil all season long. Edwards has dealt with a nagging hamstring injury and a broken hand, but his performance on the field looks indicative of a linebacker in his late 20s, especially in coverage, where he's allowed a 77.1% completion rate, 119.7 passer rating, and 11.4 yards per catch.
Edmunds returned from a groin injury but struggled to get back into form, also getting blasted in coverage to the tune of 51 catches allowed for 161 yards and two touchdowns in his last three games.
The Bears' depth has also fallen apart after Noah Sewell tore his Achilles tendon. While D’Marco Jackson stepped up to fill the void, Hyppolite has only been able to get on the field for 31 snaps this season, which amplifies the loss of a reserve linebacker.
Ogbongbemiga wasn’t likely to play a massive role on defense on Saturday, but that isn't surprising. He's more of a special teamer, having recorded a tackle across 133 snaps in ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia's unit, per PFF. There’s also something to say about the unit, considering Green Bay had the seventh-most rushing attempts (492) in the NFL this season and removed Josh Jacobs from their injury report on Wednesday.
In a rivalry where both regular-season meetings were decided by one possession, everything will impact the eventual outcome, and that could include the Bears' growing LB problems.