The two sacks the Chicago Bears allowed to the Minnesota Vikings may be a couple of the easiest I’ve ever had to break down.
So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty.
Sack 57 – 1st Quarter 7:42- Jonathan Greenard
Rookie left tackle Kiran Amegadjie was beaten around the edge by Jonathan Grennard with a speed rush. Grennard slaps at Amegadjie’s hand, but it’s not needed. The rookie from Yale offered no resistance, and Grennard blasted Caleb Williams for the sack.
The TV copy gives the best look of Amegadjie’s feet on this one, and his feet are why he failed to get out for his block. His left foot should have kicked out to gain depth and cut off Grennard’s path, but it just went up and back down while his right foot took a big step.
Running back, Travis Homer checked inside before leaking out, and Amegadjie was one-on-one with Grennard.
Zebra Technologies, the company behind the NFL’s Next Gen Stats, had this nugget about Grennard’s day.
Jonathan Greenard generated a team high 7 pressures and a sack against the Bears, with 5 of his pressures coming against rookie left tackle Kiran Amegadjie. Greenard also registered the fastest sack of Week 15, taking down Caleb Williams in 2.41 seconds (5th fastest sack this season).
Amegadjie was overmatched all night, and he’s clearly not ready for the NFL. The Bears should have given him the redshirt treatment while he worked on his technique and strength for a full season.
Sack 58 – 4th Quarter 8:53 – Dallas Turner
Right tackle Darnell Wright was on an island with rookie linebacker Dallas Turner, and Wright was caught off-guard by a fantastic move. Turner feigns throwing his hands, dips under Wright, gets low, and then dives into the quarterback for his first sack since week one.
Here’s the individual Sackwatch tally after 14 games:
Sacks Happen – 11
Caleb Williams – 10.5
Larry Borom – 7
Matt Pryor – 5
Braxton Jones – 5
Darnell Wright – 4
Coleman Shelton – 3
Nate Davis – 2.5
Doug Kramer Jr. – 2
Teven Jenkins – 2
Kiran Amegadjie – 2
Cole Kmet – 1.5
Marcedes Lewis – 1
Ryan Bates – 1
D’Andre Swift – .5
As I’ve often said, the breakdowns are based on my best guesses about what happens in each play. Only the Bears know the specifics and who is truly to blame for each sack allowed.
Here are Chicago’s historical total sacks allowed through 14 games (in the Sackwatch era).
2010 – 48 Martz
2011 – 42 Martz
2012 – 42 Tice
2013 – 24 Trestman
2014 – 37 Trestman
2015 – 28 Gase
2016 – 24 Loggains
2017 – 33 Loggains
2018 – 30 Nagy
2019 – 38 Nagy
2020 – 34 Nagy
2021 – 45 Nagy/Lazor
2022 – 48 Getsy
2023 – 41 Getsy
2024 – 58 Total (Waldron 38 in 9 games / Brown 20 in 5 games)
Thanks to all of you guys who check out Sackwatch each week!