Bears Get More Bad News on Kyler Gordon Before Ravens Game
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Bears cornerback Kyler Gordon.
The situation with cornerback Kyler Gordon has gone from bad to worse for the Chicago Bears ahead of Week 8’s road matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
Gordon popped up on the injury report Thursday after injuring both his groin and calf in practice and spending the day’s session as a limited participant. The Bears then held him out entirely from Friday’s walkthrough before ruling him out for Week 8’s game.
Things grew worse Saturday when the Bears officially placed Gordon on the injured reserve list, meaning he will miss at least the next four games for Chicago’s defense.
The Bears will now play at least their next four games — including Sunday’s road game against the Ravens — without two of their top cornerbacks. Pro Bowl starter Jaylon Johnson underwent core-muscle surgery in September and is out indefinitely on IR.
The Bears also won’t have their other perimeter starter, Tyrique Stevenson, available against the Ravens. Stevenson injured his shoulder early in Week 7’s win over the New Orleans Saints and sat out every practice this week before the team ruled him out.
The Bears (4-2) will kick off against the Ravens (1-5) at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Losing Kyler Gordon Could Cripple Bears’ CB Room
With Gordon now out for a minimum of four games, the Bears are severely depleted at the cornerback position because of injuries and could remain that way for some time, depending on how much time Stevenson winds up missing with his shoulder injury.
The Bears will count Nahshon Wright, Nick McCloud and Josh Blackwell as their top three cornerbacks when they face the Ravens on Sunday. They will also have Jaylon Jones and practice-squad elevation Dallis Flowers available as backups, though the lack of high-level playing experience across the board raises some alarm bells for them.
On the plus side, the Bears won’t have to deal with two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson after the Ravens announced Saturday that he will miss his third straight game with his hamstring injury. The Ravens will start backup Tyler Huntley (11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 26 career games) in his place — a better matchup for Chicago.
Even still, the sudden depletion of depth could force the Bears to consider their options for improving their cornerback room — such as signing a vet — in the coming weeks.
Bears Also Shut Down Braxton Jones With Knee Injury
Gordon is not the only Bear who landed on injured reserve before Week 8’s game.
The Bears also placed offensive tackle Braxton Jones on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury. He was a limited participant in Wednesday’s first practice before the team downgraded him to a non-participant for the final two sessions to close out the week.
Jones lost his job as the Bears’ starting left tackle when the team benched him for Theo Benedet midway through Week 4’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, but he still provided the Bears with valuable depth and experience at the position before his new injury.
The injury is also likely to diminish — if not completely wipe out — any trade interest Jones may have garnered before the NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET on November 4.
In a corresponding roster move, the Bears signed defensive tackle Jonathan Ford from the practice squad to the 53-man roster after elevating him in each of their past three games. Ford has played 36 defensive snaps this season, but he is less likely to see any playing time now that veteran Grady Jarrett (knee) has been cleared to play again.
Steelers' TJ Watt Gives Encouraging News On Pittsburgh's Preparation Against The Packers
The Pittsburgh Steelers were recently defeated by the Cincinnati Bengals 33-31 on Thursday Night Football in a showing that made it look as if the Steelers hadn't shown up on defense. The Steelers gave up 342 passing yards to Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco and another 108 rushing yards to Bengals running back Chase Brown. This was on top of allowing Bengals superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase to record the single-game record for receptions with 16 on 23 targets. Overall, the defensive effort was incredibly poor, being unable to stop the Bengals all night long no matter what they did, ultimately leading to the unit failing to stop the Bengals' final drive that came with 2:21 left in the game. Ultimately, the Bengals were able to kick the game-winning field goal to seal the deal.
There were more answers given to the questions about preparation on defense against the Packers when Steelers All-Pro edge rusher TJ Watt stepped up to the podium to discuss their efforts this week. Watt went on to explain the effort put into the gameplan against the Packers on 93.7 The Fan and made it rather simple, yet encouraging to Steelers fans who hope to see the defense bounce back.
"Stop the run, stop the run, stop the run," Watt stated. "And obviously try to affect the pass as much as we possibly can. I mean, we're not gonna get taken two weeks in a row, there's just a lot of things, guys doing their job individually, allowing us to play the best we possibly can collectively, and get back to what we do."
Watt's emphasis on stopping the run will definitely be a crucial element to the upcoming matchup against the Packers, as Packers running back Josh Jacobs has been an effective piece of their offense within the past month. Keeping him limited to small gains on the ground will be one of the best ways to keep the Packers from moving the ball effectively. The Steelers' defense has shown that they have the ability to keep elite players like Jacobs contained, but haven't been able to put up consistent efforts week to week, which has ultimately led to comments like Watt's taking center stage.
However, Watt's remarks also show a sign of confidence that the unit is collectively working on improving themselves, which would be coming at the right time considering how considerably difficult the schedule becomes for the Steelers -- even after this Sunday night against the Packers.
Steelers' Defense Needs To Gain Consistency With Increasingly Difficult Games Soon
As the Steelers enter one of the more difficult stretches of their season, starting this Sunday night against the Packers, Watt's comments about players working individually to perform at a high level to enhance the collective play of the unit as a whole will come into focus. The entire defense will need to begin putting up consistent performances against teams like the Packers if they want to be taken seriously as Super Bowl contenders. If the Steelers can go into Sunday night and put up a strong showing on defense, making the Bengals game seem more like an apparition than their real level of play, then there won't be many left that would be able to doubt the strength of the Steelers' defense going forward.
