Khalil Mack was talked about as a potential trade candidate all offseason long, but it was the Chicago Bears who finally pulled the trigger to acquire him. It did take two first-round picks, but after seeing the dominant performance that Mack put on in Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers, the trade was well worth it for the Bears.
In his debut performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, Mack was everywhere on the field. He played much more than anticipated and almost led the Bears to an upset win on the road.
Mack racked up three total tackles to go along with a sack, forced fumble, fumble recovery, interception, and a defensive touchdown. Those numbers show exactly why the Bears made the right call to trade for him, even if the price was steep. His performance also earned him high praise from the stat guru’s over at Pro Football Focus.
Following that performance, Mack was named to PFF’s Defensive Team of the Week in the No. 3 spot on their list.
Khalil Mack's dominant first half sees him land on the PFF Team of the Week in his first game with the @ChicagoBears https://t.co/q1JVSkxoaS
(via @PFF_Gordon) pic.twitter.com/B3nzmkw1S1
— PFF (@PFF) September 11, 2018
It has been a long time since the Bears were viewed as a serious contender in the NFC North. They may not be quite there, but they are headed in the right direction.
New head coach Matt Nagy has to be pleased with what he saw in Week 1. Mitch Trubisky and the offense looked a lot better than they were in 2017 and the addition of Mack is huge as well. Even rookie linebacker Roquan Smith made an immediate impact against the Packers, coming through with a sack in his first NFL play.
Expect to see Mack continue dominating throughout the remainder of the season for the Bears. Chicago hasn’t had a top defense in a long time, but if Week 1 is any indication, fans can expect that to change.
