Akiem Hicks' Return Could Bolster Struggling Defensive Interior

When the Bears defense hit a peak in 2018, the inner core acted as their foundation.

Everything they did became possible because Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman not only held down the middle against the run, but made plays in the opposing backfeld.

When Goldman opted out due to COVID-19, the Bears didn't handle his loss well and Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions is a stark reminder of this. They gave up 93 yards rushing to Adrian Peterson in the opener and it hasn't been easy for them since then, although it had improved slightly before last week.

In no mood for excuse making, Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano refused this week to dwell upon Goldman's absence.

"Yeah. I miss my kids. I don't see them a lot," Pagano said. "I miss my daughters spread out all over the place. I miss my granddaughters. I've got a brand new grandson down in Indianapolis. I miss the hell out of him.

"I miss everybody."

The thing is, the Bears don't have Goldman and they've had to adjust. Trying to also adjust last week to not having Hicks proved the proverbial straw on the camel's back.

"I think it's pretty obvious that he's such a great player that for us being able to have him out there is huge," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "So just seeing him out there. His leadership. I think a lot of that stuff goes unrecognized, what he does when he's out there on that field, so we wanna be able to get him out there and it's good to see him out there."

Hicks is likely to play this week. The Bears have him listed as questionable but this is a formality because he didn't go through full practices this week. However, he did practice on a limited basis on Thursday and Friday and deems himself sufficiently recovered from a right hamstring pull.

Even then, it won't be easy to simply shut down the run. They've also lost key defensive line rotational player Roy Robertson-Harris for the year to a shoulder injury. Not having Goldman, Robertson-Harris and Hicks was a total disaster.

The 182 yards rushing by Green Bay was the most allowed by the Bears since December of 2016. They now are 20th against the run, and haven't finished a season as low since they were 27th in 2016.

Hicks said he took it as an insult when he saw how the Packers pushed around the defense last week.

"Our defensive line, my personal opinion is we have one of the best rooms in the building because there's always a nice vibe," Hicks said. "We get along. We talk well to each other, and we're not afraid to criticize each other, and want the best for one another.

"So I take it personally when we don't play as a unit up to the standard we've set throughout the years. "

Numbers obviously say Hicks hasn't been as effective without Goldman alongside this year.

In his last three games, Hicks had gone without a tackle for loss. He had 38 tackles for loss from 2016-18, then last year was out three-quarters of the season with a dislocated elbow. He hasn't had a sack since Week 3 although he's continued getting good pressure with a quarterback hit in each of his last five games.

Last year when Hicks was missing, they allowed 110.5 yards rushing but only 76.7 yards a game when Hicks was playing.

"You always want big 96 out there," Pagano said. "We know what a great player and impactful player that he is. Again, it just falls on my shoulders and the rest of the guys' shoulders to pick up the slack. It's next man up."

Hicks had always been durable until last year's injury. At 31 now, the 350-pounder does his best to maintain conditioning.

"I train like a monster," Hicks said. "I do everything I can and more to put myself in the position so when I come out to play, I can play all of the snaps that I want to.

"Football is something I'm in love with. So I never want to be off the field. I want to play every snap, and my (defensive line) coach Jay Rodgers knows that. He works with me on being able to pull myself back in certain situations and deal with the rest for a second and come back out and play at a high level."

The plan is to keep Hicks as fresh as possible.

"I think that's something we've worked on throughout these five years we’ve been together, and something that we continue to work on because it's an every-week process," Hicks said. "During the course of the game, you can go in and say you want a guy to play 40, 50 snaps and that be it. But if we’re playing a fourth-and-1 situation, I’m going to want to be in the game. And he's going to want me in the game."

The whole defense depends on it. They proved it last week.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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