Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports
Scouting Report: Chicago Bears Outside Linebacker Khalil Mack
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack is a stud.
The Bears acquired the three-time All-Pro via a trade with the Oakland Raiders eight days before the start of the 2018 season, and he brought Chicago immediate relevance.
Remember, going into 2018, Chicago was coming off a campaign in which it finished 5-11 and in last place in the NFC North.
The Bears' 2017 campaign marked the fourth straight losing season for the franchise, as well as the third-straight sub-.500 season under then-Bears coach John Fox.
To no surprise, it led to Fox's dismissal.
Out was Fox, a coach with 16 years of NFL head coaching experience. And in was Matt Nagy, a coach with zero years of head coaching experience who spent a season as the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive coordinator prior to getting the job.
Expectations, subsequently, were low for the Windy City's pro football franchise headed into 2018.
The team was not expected to compete for a division title. Yet, it did and largely, at least on the defensive side of the ball, because of the pass-rushing prowess of Mack.
Mack led the Bears to a 12-4 season and an NFC North division crown for the first time since 2010 when Lovie Smith -- now the head man at the University of Illinois -- was roaming the sidelines at Soldier Field.
Mack made an immediate impact.
In his first game as a Bear, he not only recorded a sack but also forced a fumble, recovered it and returned an interception for a touchdown.
All in a day's work for the University at Buffalo product.
And the cherry on top regarding Mack's performance was that it came against the division rival Green Bay Packers.
Mack's dominance in 2018 didn't end there, either.
He finished the season with 12.5 sacks, as well as a career-high six forced fumbles and career-high four passes defensed.
He's also recorded four passes defensed through eight games this year. Just one of the signs that he hasn't slowed down in his second year with the Bears.
He's also continued to get after the quarterback, with 5.5 sacks on the season.
Since Week 5, though, he hasn't been on top of his game.
In that span of time (encompasses four games), the sixth-year pro has produced only one sack.
Meanwhile, the four-time Pro Bowler posted 4.5 sacks over the course of the first four weeks of the season.
To no surprise, during that span, the Bears went 3-1.
Since then, the Bears have lost four straight, and have fallen into last place in the NFC North.
If Chicago's season is going to get back on track, Mack's will have to as well.
There may be no better time than Sunday for Mack to do so.
He'll go up against a Lions offensive line that has struggled in recent weeks to protect franchise passer Matthew Stafford.
In fact, Stafford has been sacked at least twice -- and 15 total times -- in each of Detroit's last five games.
This has come after he was dropped just three times in as many weeks to open up the season.
Then, there's this: Detroit's O-line will be extra vulnerable Sunday if starting left guard Joe Dahl and starting right guard Graham Glasgow are ruled out due to injury.
Dahl is battling through a left ankle injury that he suffered late in last week's game against the Oakland Raiders.
Meanwhile, Glasgow is nursing a back ailment that caused him to miss last week's contest.
It was the first time Glasgow had missed a game since his rookie campaign in 2016.
Both players have been ruled as questionable, per the Lions' latest injury report.
Glasgow looks like he will avoid missing additional time, though.
He was a full participant in Friday's practice.
A stud like Mack needs no help, such as injuries to the opposition's offensive linemen, to make his presence known.
Yet, it's scary to think what life for Stafford will be like against Mack & Co., if even just one of the two veteran guards can't suit up Sunday at Soldier Field.
Vito's prediction for Mack in Week 10:
Five total tackles and a sack
More: Matthew Stafford Joins More Impressive Company
