Some wondered if the South Florida heat may have been the reason Khalil Mack had his quietest game of the season against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, but apparently the star pass-rusher was playing through significant pain.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Mack injured his ankle during the Chicago Bears’ 31-28 overtime loss.
#Bears star pass-rusher Khalil Mack got rolled up on yesterday and injured his ankle during the loss to the #Dolphins, I’m told. The injury may have kept other players on the sidelines, but Mack gutted it out into overtime and stayed on the field. More info later in the week.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 15, 2018
Mack, who rarely comes off the field, played on only 62 of 78 defensive snaps. He failed to record a sack for the first time this season and had just two tackles. Bears head coach Matt Nagy said Sunday that the team will know more about the injury in the coming days, but Mack downplayed it.
Khalil Mack was dealing with an ankle injury during the game. He went in for postgame evaluation but indicated it was fine: "I'm good."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 14, 2018
Chicago’s defense has been dominant for much of the season, and the addition of Mack is arguably the biggest reason for that. On Sunday, they allowed the Dolphins to score 31 points despite Brock Osweiler drawing the start for an injured Ryan Tannehill. The result was extremely surprising, and you have to wonder if it would have been different had Mack not gotten hurt.
