Khalil Mack Says "Get Ready" for More Big Defensive Plays

Khalil Mack hasn't had a sack the past two games and only one in the last five games, but he's not about to panic or get frustrated.

Mack has been through all this before and refuses to overreact to any streak one way or the other. It's an approach he hopes the whole Chicago Bears defense takes.

The Bears defense is hoping to break out of a funk of sorts against the inconsistent Los Angeles Rams offense Sunday, and this includes a lack of sacks by Mack. Eddie Jackson and the defensive backs are suffering from an interception drought, as well, with only one pick in the last four games, that one from Kyle Fuller against the Chargers.

"Me and Eddie have been talking, understanding what it is we want to do especially defensively, and especially as far as creating turnovers," Mack said. "That's just what we do. That's kind of the mindsets that we have.

"I told him these kind of things happen, but ultimately when they come, they come in bunches. So get ready."

Coach Matt Nagy hasn't lost confidence in his defense despite the lack of big plays, admitting the offense's failures have led to too much playing time for the defense.

"I just think some of it is just a little bit cyclical in regards to how that works," Nagy said of big plays. "The other part of it, too, and what I was so proud about early on, and even now, is that it takes a little bit of time to get used to a whole new scheme. They did that right away, and they’re continuing to do it.

"So I ‘m excited for this week, I really am, to see what they can do."

Ending such downturns is part of the regular ebb and flow of the NFL.

"Ultimately it's how you react and how you come out of it," Mack said.

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Part of the Bears problems with creating big defensive plays is they've been too busy defending smaller plays. Teams have driven on them with smaller chunks.

The answer, of course, is the sack or turnover. It's hard to pick up a sack or interception when the defense is worrying about defending the run. It's been that way since the loss to Oakland in London when opponents started running against them for the first time with Akiem Hicks injured. The Rams, with Todd Gurley, are sure to continue trying this with a healthy dose of zone blocking and cutback running or bootleg passes.

"We've kind of opened up a can of worms, and until you put that fire out, you're going to continue to get the same type of schemes," defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano said.

Pagano thinks they did stop the run well against Detroit, since 37 yards came on quarterback runs, mostly scrambles, and only 61 came from running backs. To get Mack a chance to rush the passer and the secondary a chance to make plays on interceptions, it takes stopping the run first.

The Rams have lost four of the last six but remained viable on offense except in their 20-7 loss to the 49ers and 17-12 loss to Pittsburgh.

Quarterback Jared Goff has been wildly inconsistent with a 51.2 passer rating last week and 60.8 against the 49ers, but 119.3 against the Bengals and 99.8 against the Falcons in wins. They've been worse at running than passing, with 42 yards last week and 38 yards against the Falcons in a win. Part of their problem is the offensive line woes they've had. Center Brian Allen is out for the year on injured reserve and tackle Rob Havenstein is out this week with a knee injury.

The Bears need to take advantage of their opportunties, even if they're playing still without Hicks or now injured Danny Trevathan. It hasn't been something they've excelled at this year on a down-by-down basis. Mack has been double-teamed constantly and the chance is always there for big plays from others, but they haven't come.

"People game-plan him," linebackers coach Ted Monachino said. "They do things that they don't do versus other players that they do versus him. He got blocked by every position group on that offense (Sunday). Wide receivers blocked him, tight ends blocked him, running backs blocked him, guards, centers and tackles blocked him.

"This is a guy that doesn't flinch, doesn't get frustrated, he's a great teammate. Is he still impacting games? Not the way that he would like."

The answer has to come from elsewhere when Mack is getting so much attention, such as Leonard Floyd or even the defensive scheme.

"We've all gotta do a better job, coaches and players of figuring out ways of 'OK, if they're going to put all this attention on one player, how can we make them pay for that?' " Monachino said. "And we've all gotta do a better job, especially us as a staff, finding ways to get our other guys singled and get them up the field."

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