LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Bears' run defense figures to be challenged greatly against Atlanta's NFL rushing leader Bijan Robinson by the absence of starting defensive ends Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo.
Not having middle linebacker T.J. Edwards due to a hamstring injury impacts them even more, and in one other way besides their run defense. Edwards has been ruled out for Sunday and it's the third hamstring injury for him the last two seasons. It's obvious to coach Ben Johnson where the damage is done.
"Well, I think what you feel from T.J., certainly during practice and then during games, is just the communication aspect," Johnson said. "Everyone's going to know exactly what's going on, where to line up. He's going to be quick and decisive with the calls, and he never panics.
"And so, when you have a new voice, that's where it takes a second for the unit to understand and get the rhythm. We've been facing that on offense the last few weeks with different quarterbacks in the huddle and cadence. It's no different for the green dot there on defense. Maybe not to the same extent."
Edwards calls the defensive plays and is out for Sunday's game on the final injury report. Now D'Marco Jackson moves from strongside linebacker to middle linebacker. He had experience from last year with four starts and 15 games played while Edwards missed seven regular-season starts due to hamstring issues.
"And so you miss a guy like T.J. He's been a steady Eddie and he's played really dependable football really through his tenure here," Johnson said. "But it gives an opportunity for other guys to step up and make an impact themselves.
"Good thing we have some depth in that linebacker room. We have a lot of guys that have played a lot of ball at a high level and won meaningful games for us."
The move likely means Noah Sewell gets on the field for running downs when the Bears are in their base defense. Sewell played last week for the first time this year after an Achilles tear last season Sewell can play strongside or the middle.
Although Edwards' impact isn't always seen in the form of big plays, last year in the 10 games Edwards played the defense averaged 7.4 yards per game fewer rushing yards allowed. It might not sound like much but it is impactful.
In five games with him back, they are ninth against the run this year, although they are 22nd in yards allowed per rush. That weas still seven spots better than they finished last year when he missed seven starts.
Johnson has more than just Edwards' loss to worry about as they try to stop a running back the Bears coach says he had coveted while with the Lions.
"I think the message to our guys and what we're trying to bring to Sunday is it takes all 11," Johnson said. "It's not just, I know the focus will be on the D-line and whether it's gap integrity or knockback or all those popular terms up front, and yet our linebackers have to play really sound football and we're going to need our little guys this week to show up for us.
"That's the hard part when you get a dynamic running game like this and then also they've got these weapons on the outside too, it's hard to defend all of it. And so we're gonna need our guys to play really their best game on defense yet this year to keep these guys contained."
So what exactly does it mean when the Bears are without Edwards in the win-loss column due to injury the last two seasons?
When he has played, they have an 8-7 record. They were 5-5 with him last year. When he doesn't play, they have won six and lost once.
Throw in the playoffs and they are 6-2 when he doesn't start and 9-7 when he does.
Draw your own conclusions, but it sounds like they'll be able to compensate. With both ends out, it could be a different story, however.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/bears/onsi as What Losing T.J. Edwards Actually Means for Bears Against Falcons .
