Khalil Mack isn’t afraid to speak his mind. He never has been. That’s one of the things that makes him so entertaining on and off the field. While never one to disparage another player, the Chicago Bears superstar pass rusher appeared more than a little angry with Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce after the game. Why? It has to do with a particular issue the defensive front had with penalties.
In total they were flagged four times for offsides or neutral zone infractions. They were a big part of why the Bears defense couldn’t get off the field for much of the afternoon. Most chalked it up to Carson Wentz having an effective hard snap count. However, Mack didn’t agree. He felt the quarterback got a big assist from Kelce.
Basically he was saying the center was subtly jerking the ball to make it seem like he was about to snap it. The Bears would try to jump it, only to realize too late that he hadn’t. That may sound like sour grapes, but a closer look at the video reveals that Kelce did indeed have a twitch with his forearm that the referees failed to notice.
Khalil Mack may be right, but it doesn’t matter
Unfortunately, there isn’t much Mack can do about the situation. The Bears had their chances to stop the Eagles when it mattered, especially in the second half. Four times they put Philadelphia into 3rd down situations and all four times they gave up the 1st down. That was their season in a nutshell right there. Mack may have been correct about Kelce but it doesn’t absolve the defense from not being able to close the deal when it mattered most. That’s something they’ll need to work on more than their concerns about penalties being called for the wrong reasons.
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