Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson couldn’t remember the last time he wore the green-dot helmet, the one that allowed coordinator Dennis Allen to send in the play calls for him to relay to his teammates.
“One game in New Orleans,” he said. “Maybe.”
If so, it was in relief. The journeyman special teams ace made his first career start Sunday, playing middle linebacker in place of Tremaine Edmunds, whom the Bears put on injured reserve a day earlier.
Rookie Ruben Hyppolite II made his own first career start, filling in for weak-side linebacker T.J. Edwards, but he didn’t make it out of the first quarter. He hurt his shoulder and was replaced by special teamer Amen Ogbongbemiga, whose only two career starts came as a rookie in 2021.
Jackson finished the Bears’ 31-28 win against the Steelers as the team’s leading tackler — his 15 was more than he’d ever posted in an entire season. Coach Ben Johnson gave him one of two game balls in the locker room, telling the Bears it would have been easy to feel sorry for themselves.
“How are we going to win this game? We got no linebackers,” he said.
Ogbongbemiga had 14 tackles, more than any season he’s played since his rookie season.
“I knew we were decimated in certain areas,” Johnson said. “The easy thing is to say, ‘Woe is me,’ and our guys didn’t do that. They just stepped up and kept battling through. It happens to most teams each season, too, where your depth gets tested.”
It got even worse as the game went on. Tyrique Stevenson’s hip injury flared up, prompting the Bears to play Nick McCloud, who finished fourth on the team with seven tackles.
Safety Kevin Byard was asked what it meant to watch the backups play well enough to win.
“Nothing that I didn’t already know about this group,” he said. “We’re very resilient.”
Notes
• Ozzy Trapilo, one of the Bears’ three second-round rookies, made his first NFL start in place of left tackle Theo Benedet, who was held out because of a quad injury. Guard Luke Newman, a sixth-rounder this year, played briefly for Jonah Jackson when he left in the second quarter with an eye injury. Neither seemed overwhelmed — the Bears allowed just one sack.
• Running back D’Andre Swift had just eight carries for 15 yards and a fumble. Kyle Monangai carried 12 times for 48 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first Bears rookie to run for a score in three-straight home games since Walter Payton 50 years ago.
• Cornerback Nahshon Wright’s first-quarter interception moved him into a tie with teammate Kevin Byard for the NFL lead with five.
