Chicago Bears: 5 X-factor players for Week 6 vs. Panthers

3. Robert Quinn, Linebacker

One of the criticisms of Leonard Floyd was that he wasn’t a good complement to All-World linebacker Khalil Mack. Mack continued to see double and triple teams on his way to the quarterback. Floyd, on the other hand, had trouble beating anyone on one-on-one matchups (unless, of course, it was against the Green Bay Packers).

The Bears decided to bring in Robert Quinn, who was an All-Pro pass rusher in his own right. Teaming him up with Mack gave the Bears one dangerous pass rush. Throw in Akiem Hicks and opposing quarterbacks around the league would have nightmares when they go up against the Bears.

Quinn had an injury and missed out on the game in Week 1. He made his Chicago Bears debut in Week 2 and made his presence known right away. On the first drive, he sacked Daniel Jones and forced a fumble, and Mack recovered it. Later in the game, the Three Amigos combined again, pressuring Jones into an interception. That is what the Bears and their fans expected.

The Quinn-Mack connection wreaked havoc on Brady in Week 5. They led the defense in pressuring him 43.2 percent of his dropbacks (the most since 2017). Mack had two sacks and six pressures on 34 pass rushes (17.6 percent), while Quinn had five pressures on 28 pass rushes (17.9 percent).

With Quinn’s help, Mack is flourishing this season. He has 19 pressures, 3 quarterback hits, and 3.5 sacks (and another three wiped out by penalties). Despite not having the shiny stats that Mack has, Quinn is doing his job. He’s freeing up space so Mack gets his hits. Last week, Brady was frustrated having to always have Mack on his back. If Quinn continues to help Mack, watch out quarterbacks!

With more time Quinn will start to get his numbers as well. Teams will give him more attention, and thus Quinn will have his opportunities. This combination is just starting to gel and things will only get worse for opposing offenses the rest of the season.