Chicago Bears: 5 Players critical to defeating Saints in Wild Card Round

Chicago Bears key player No. 3: Robert Quinn, EDGE

The Chicago Bears cut edge rusher Leonard Floyd this offseason because he wasn’t able to protect All-World pass rusher, Khalil Mack. They signed former All-Pro Robert Quinn to a five-year, $70 million deal.

Quinn did not get the stats that the fans expected from him. He finished the regular season with just two sacks, 20 tackles (zero for loss) and six quarterback hits. He did record three forced fumbles, however. Also, he’s taken a lot of attention away from Mack, allowing him to get a lot of pressure on the quarterback.

Even Quinn admitted he hasn’t had a great season, per SI.com:

"It’s just been one of those years, just hasn’t been one of my best years but we still got a chance."

Quinn and Mack need to pressure Saints quarterback Drew Brees the same way they did when they played Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mack had six pressures and two sacks on 34 pass rushes (17.6 percent pressure), while Quinn, who didn’t get a sack, still had five pressures on 28 pass rushes (17.9 percent).

Throw in Akiem Hicks and that helps the Bears stay in the game. If Quinn does his job, Hicks and Mack will be even better and that gives the secondary a chance to make up for their performance last week against the Packers.

Despite the underachieving season, if Quinn breaks through and has a big game against the Saints things may be forgiven.