Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bears Odds of Success Will Skyrocket With This Many Sacks in Arizona

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There’s a reason the Arizona Cardinals are almost certain to run the ball a lot on Sunday. They know who they have under center in Sam Bradford and there’s every reason to think they won’t be able to protect him against that vicious pass rush of the Chicago Bears defense if he’s forced to throw too often.

They already know right tackle Andre Smith is out with injury. Their best receiver Larry Fitzgerald, if he even plays has been hobbled by a hamstring issue. The options are limited and Bradford has shown he’s not a quarterback who can improvise like an Aaron Rodgers or a Russell Wilson. If he’s forced to sit back there and throw 35-40 times?

It could get ugly. There’s no doubt this is what the Bears want. They’ll be selling out to make sure Johnson doesn’t get going. They want Bradford in their crosshairs. Not just because he’s a target who can’t move too well, but also because there’s a certain stigma around him that people need to remember.

Chicago Bears defense will all but assure a victory with four sacks

For Bradford, it’s a cold reality when he’s pressured a lot. There’s a reason he’s never been able to crack that glass ceiling to get among the better QBs in the league. He just doesn’t know how to handle pressure. Great quarterbacks find a way to work through being sacked a lot in a game and find ways to win. Bradford is not one of them. Just look at his record when being sacked 4 times or more in a game versus not.

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Sam Bradford when sacked 4 times or more
  • 3-18 record, 23 TDs, 11 INTs
Sam Bradford when sacked 3 times or less
  • 31-29 record, 78 TDs, 48 INTs

Bradford has never won a game in his NFL career when he’s been sacked 5 times or more. In fact, the Bears already have hard evidence that this method works. In his NFL career, they’ve played against him four times. Two of those games saw them sack him 5 and 6 times respectively. They won both games, giving up a combined 16 points.

The last time the Bears saw him early in 2017, they sacked him 4 times in the first half. That was without Khalil Mack on the roster. Make no mistake. Bradford has no business have a good performance on Sunday in Arizona. The deck is stacked against him in every conceivable way. The only possible way it happens if the Bears don’t take him seriously.

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