A lot of Bears fans have found themselves asking the same question in 2019:
Where in the hell is Khalil Mack?
The 28 year-old was elected to his fifth straight Pro Bowl (second with the Bears) on Wednesday night. With this came a lot of back-lash. There were some fans even protesting his Pro Bowl nod. Noting that he wasn’t the same player he was in 2018.
This is where people are wrong. Khalil Mack is the same player. Hell, he might even be better.
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2018 vs 2019: The numbers don’t lie
To understand how dominant Kahlil Mack actually is, you have to look beyond just the amount of sacks he accumulates. Let’s take an in-depth look into his dominant 2018 campaign compared to this season.
Now that you’ve had the chance to read over the chart, you can see that Mack is still a truly disruptive force in 2019. These numbers are insane when you add in the fact that every offense filters their game-plan around stopping Khalil Mack. I know we aren’t seeing those ‘what the hell did Mack just do’ type of moments as frequently as we grew accustomed to but trust me when I say this.
His impact on the game has never been higher.
It is also fair to note that the Bears defense has been plagued with injuries all season long, a big one being the loss of Akiem Hicks. When Hicks went down in London, this allowed opposing defenses to essentially hone in on Khalil Mack. Leading to more double/triple teams than ever. Even with all that has gone wrong for this Bears defense they are still boasting the 3rd best overall defense in the NFL according to Pro Football Reference.
This is not only a testament to how deep this Bears defense is but shows how truly dynamic of a player the Bears have in Khalil Mack.
