Chicago Bears: 5 Bold predictions for the 2020 season

4. There will be a new Chicago Bears single-season sacks record

Historically, the Chicago Bears defense is well known for getting after the quarterback. It is a fact that if your pass rush continually harasses the quarterback he’ll have happy feet and make mistakes. The Bears defense used that formula for success in 2018. They recorded 50 sacks and that, along with all the other pressure that didn’t result in sacks, helped the team force 47 turnovers.

Things were different in 2019. The defense’s pressure resulted in only 32 sacks and forced just 24 turnovers.

The Bears’ front office wanted to get back to the high-pressure defense. General manager Ryan Pace gave up on Leonard Floyd and waived him. In his place, he signed former All-Pro pass rusher Robert Quinn.

The addition of Quinn and a healthy Akiem Hicks back on the field bodes well for superstar pass rusher Khalil Mack. The Bears invested a lot to acquire Mack and they need to help him do his job. Without Hicks and with an ineffective Floyd unable to break one-on-one battles with offensive linemen, Mack was the lone target for offenses. They threw double and triple teams his way, slowing his path to the quarterback. While he still finished among the leaders in quarterback pressures, he couldn’t get to the quarterback as he did before. As a result, his sack total suffered.

Mack recorded just 8.5 sacks in 2019, the lowest total in his career since his rookie season. At the start of the 2019 season, however, he was on his way to another monster season. In the first four games with Hicks on the field, Mack recorded 4.5 sacks. Once Hicks went down, Mack recorded just 4 sacks the rest of the season.

Now, with Quinn and Hicks doing their jobs, Mack will be free to wreak havoc again. Despite making it to another Pro Bowl, he knows he didn’t have his typical dominating season. He also hears the whispers of people saying that 2019 might have been the start of his decline. This offseason, he worked out like a mad man so he could prove the doubters wrong. He didn’t even stop his workouts just to speak to reporters. He spent his time on a zoom conference with reporters riding his stationary bike.

With a motivated Mack getting protection from Hicks and Quinn, he’ll be creating a lot of trouble for opposing offenses. He’ll see more one-on-one battles and will win most of them. The franchise record for single-season sacks could be in trouble.

Richard Dent set the record in 1984 with 17.5 sacks. In Mack’s first season in Chicago in 2018, he finished with 12.5 sacks, tying Dent for fourth on the list. Mack might approach Michael Strahan’s NFL record of 22.5 sacks, set in 2001.

Prediction: Mack finishes with 19.5 sacks in 2020.