The Chicago Bears received tough news this week when it was revealed that safety Jaquan Brisker had suffered a concussion in the team’s win over the Carolina Panthers. He didn’t travel with the team and is out for this Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Head coach Matt Eberflus didn’t seem too happy about the situation, but not for the reasons people thought. Yes, he didn’t like Brisker getting injured, but it was the way it happened that really made him frustrated.
After reviewing the film, it was clear Brisker had excellent tackling form on the play where he hit tight end Tommy Tremble to force a fumble. His shoulder was forward, and his head out of the way. However, the same wasn’t true of Tremble, who clearly led head-first, resulting in a thunderous helmet-to-helmet collision. Eberflus felt a penalty should’ve been called on the play for unnecessary roughness by the tight end, a result made possible by a recent rule change. The refs did nothing.
On Saturday, the NFL admitted they got it wrong by fining Tremble a whopping $17,083 for the uncalled penalty.
While he can’t do anything about the injury, he at least got the forced fumble, the win, and confirmation from the league that a penalty should’ve been called. Hopefully, the Bears can survive the upcoming game without him. They will also be without cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who suffered a calf injury in practice on Thursday. This presents a challenge for the Bears’ defense, which faces a talented Jaguars passing attack led by Trevor Lawrence, Brian Thomas Jr., and Christian Kirk. Having Jaquan Brisker would be nice. His versatility creates all sorts of matchup advantages. Alas, these are the sorts of challenges good teams must get through if they want to compete.
