Bears will be without Akiem Hicks vs. Green Bay Packers
By Paul Bretl
The Chicago Bears will be without another key defensive player when they take on the Green Bay Packers. With Khalil Mack already on season-ending IR, Akiem Hicks, who hasn’t played since Week 9, will not be back for the Sunday Night matchup.
It appeared that Hicks was trending in the right direction at practice this week. Although listed as questionable, he was a full participant on Friday. But according to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, Hicks has been downgraded to out.
Hicks has been a dominant presence along this Chicago interior defensive line since the 2016 season—affecting both running and passing games with an ability to blow a play up by the push he generates up the middle. He takes up space, occupies double-teams, and if left one-on-one, Hicks can wreak some havoc.
"“He’s just a guy that you have to account for on every play,” said Matt LaFleur via the Chicago Sun Times prior to a 2019 matchup. “He’s a dominant performer and he has been for a while. Just have to be mindful of where he’s at every time he’s out on the field.”"
However, in this 2021 season, which is the final year of Hicks’ current deal, he has battled injuries, appearing in only nine games and playing just 235 total defensive snaps, according to PFF ($$). Hicks logged a sack and one tackle for loss when the two rivals met in Week 6.
If available and healthy, I imagine Chicago’s hope was that Hicks would regain some of his previous form against a Green Bay Packers interior offensive line that has had its share of ups and downs this season—particularly Royce Newman.
But with Hicks still sidelined, that is all a moot point. On the defensive front, the Packers’ offensive line will still have to contend with Robert Quinn, who has logged 11 sacks this season, along with Trevis Gipson, who has 19 pressures and five sacks, per PFF.
Overall, this Bears defense is third in total sacks but they rank 29th in pressure rate. They haven’t been able to pressure the quarterback with any sort of consistency, but when they do, they’ve been very good at converting those opportunities to sacks—something that does not seem sustainable.
Against the run game, the Bears are allowing 4.2 yards per rush, which ranks 16th, but they rank 26th by ESPN’s run blocking win rate metric.
Not having to contend with Hicks does make life a bit easier for this Green Bay Packers offensive line, but with three of their five preferred starters still sidelined, game-planning around this unit is still necessary for LaFleur. I would still anticipate quick passes, plenty of motion, along with establishing and sticking to the run game.
"“I think our guys have done a great job game-planning for it,” coach Matt LaFleur said via SI. “It really comes down to the execution, but I think (assistant coaches) Justin Outten, Steno, Hackett, Ben Sirmans, they game plan all that. Then it comes down to our players taking that game plan and making it work. I think our backs have been running really hard. The effort’s been great. But I feel like that’s the case for most plays all year long, so it really comes down to just making sure that you put your guys in a good position and they go out there and execute.”"