The Bears got the win they sorely needed, only to lose another key player.Guard Kyle Long had to be helped off the field in the closing minutes with an injured right foot, putting a damper on a 24-10 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday.Mitchell Trubisky threw for two touchdowns, and the Bears (4-3) came out on top after dropping two in a row to fall out of the NFC North lead. But they might have to get by without their three-time Pro Bowl lineman after Long was injured in the closing minutes. That was another hit for a team that was already missing star pass rusher star pass rusher Khalil Mack (right ankle) and No. 1 receiver Allen Robinson (groin).Long was hurt when tight end Dion Sims rolled into him as the two were blocking for Jordan Howard on a run, adding to a long list of injuries for the star lineman.He had surgery on his right ankle following the 2016 season and operations on his shoulder, elbow and neck after he was shut down late last year. Coach Matt Nagy said the team will know more about Long’s latest injury in the next few days.
”Can’t say enough about Kyle, how much he loves this organization,” Trubisky said. ”To see a guy go down like that, it hurts. We’ll just try to pick him up and rally behind him any way we can. He knows we love him and we’re just gonna hope for the best.”
Though the Bears were missing their best defensive player, Sam Darnold struggled and the Jets (3-5) managed just 207 yards in losing their second straight game.Trubisky was shaky but did enough to help the Bears come out on top. He connected with Tarik Cohen for a 70-yard touchdown on a screen in the first quarter and threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Anthony Miller in the third, making it 14-3. But the second-year pro was wild again after struggling with his control against New England the previous week.Trubisky was 16 of 29 for 220 yards. He also ran for 51 on six attempts.Cohen’s lone reception was the big touchdown. He also ran for 40 yards on five carries.He ran for 81 yards and a touchdown. He scored from the 2 to make it 24-10 midway through the fourth quarter, sealing the win after tight losses to Miami and the Patriots.Coming off his worst game as a pro with three interceptions, Darnold was 14 of 29 for a career-low 153 yards in his eighth NFL start. On the plus side, he did not throw an interception in this one.The Bears grabbed a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Cohen turned a screen from Trubisky against an all-out blitz into a 70-yard touchdown. It was the longest play from scrimmage by the Bears this season.
”It was just a great call by the offensive staff,” Cohen said. ”We ran the screen into a blitz and usually that’s a good thing. When I turned upfield, I just didn’t see anybody. I was kind of nervous not to see anybody and I just saw green grass so I took it.”
Nagy said Mack’s status was ”literally hour to hour” before the Bears decided in the morning not to suit him up, and they hope to have him playing next week. The two-time All-Pro missed his first game since Oakland drafted him with the fifth overall pick in 2014.