The Bears’ playoff hopes went up in smoke last season thanks to injuries to quarterback Jay Cutler and running back Matt Forte.
Things are still looking good for them on that front after 12 games this year, but the injuries are starting to pile up on the other side of the ball. A week after linebacker Lance Briggs and cornerback Charles Tillman were scraped up, the Bears lost three players from their defense before the end of Seattle’s 23-17 overtime loss.
Cornerback Tim Jennings hurt his shoulder and will have an MRI on Monday while linebacker Brian Urlacher, who has dealt with a knee problem all year, was forced out with a hamstring injury. Safety Chris Conte was felled by the flu, which should clear up without much more missed time. Losing three players from the defense didn’t help the defense hold up against Russell Wilson in the final minutes of regulation or overtime.
“We’re concerned,” defensive end Julius Peppers said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “We need everybody on the field. We’ve just got to get everybody healthy and we’ve got to have some guys on the second line step up.”
Tillman, Jennings, Briggs and Urlacher are essential parts of the Bears defense so missing them or getting limited production from them down the stretch would be a very bad development for Chicago’s playoff chances.