Bears linebacker Khalil Mack got to the quarterback in a variety of ways on his way to 10 sacks in the first 13 games of the season and he found a new way in Chicago’s 14th outing.
Mack got twisted around while engaged with Packers tackle Jason Spriggs on a passing play Sunday, but didn’t let his inability to see Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hinder his efforts. Mack kept moving in Rodgers’ direction and got credited with a half-sack by backing into Rodgers while teammate Bilal Nichols closed in on the other side.
“By any means necessary,” Mack said, via the Chicago Tribune. “The guy kind of grabbed my face mask, so I couldn’t even look at the quarterback. I didn’t know where he was at. I’ll take it if they gave it to me.”
Mack had two more conventional sacks of Rodgers as well and is tied with Browns defensive end Myles Garrett for sixth in the league with 12.5 on the year. That’s more than his former team has managed altogether -- the Raiders have 12 sacks on the season -- and leaves him five short of Richard Dent for the Bears’ single-season record, so there’s little doubt that the Mack trade has had serious ramifications for both teams involved in the deal.
