The Chicago Bears enter their Week 11 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in playoff position with a 6-3 record. That start is even more impressive considering linebacker T.J. Edwards has been on and off the injured list throughout the first half of the season.
Edwards missed last week’s win over the New York Giants after breaking his hand in Week 9. With a hamstring injury that won’t go away, Edwards’s timetable to return was unclear even as Ben Johnson predicted the broken hand, which required surgery, wouldn’t cost him much time. But when the Bears returned to practice on Wednesday, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that Edwards was not a participant, leaving his status in doubt for an important NFC North matchup.
T.J. Edwards’ Injury Looms Large as Bears Prepare for Crucial Divisional Showdown
The Bears would probably like to have Edwards back for Sunday’s game. According to Pro Football Focus, Edwards is the team’s highest-graded coverage linebacker with a minimum of 100 snaps, but he’s been limited to five games in part due to the broken hand, coupled with his hamstring injury late in the preseason.
That injury forced Edwards to miss the first matchup with the Vikings. While quarterback J.J. McCarthy only had 143 yards and a pair of passing touchdowns in his first career start, Edwards could have been useful when McCarthy ran into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown that put Minnesota up 27-17 with 2:53 remaining in what would become a 27-24 loss for the Bears.
Edwards attempted to return the following week when the Bears visited the Detroit Lions, but he left after aggravating his hamstring during the 52-21 loss. While Chicago has rebounded to win six of its past seven games after that start, its 0-2 record in the NFC North casts quite a shadow as it battles for playoff positioning in the final eight games.
It’s not a coincidence that the Bears lost those two games with Edwards, and the possibility of having him miss another game will loom large over the build to Sunday’s game. However, Chicago has found ways to win without Edwards for most of the season and could employ a similar game plan in a critical divisional game on Sunday.