Why Khalil Mack is the perfect piece to complete the Bears defense

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has to feel like the luckiest man in the NFL right now. The Bears received a major boost to their defense when they traded for former Defensive Player of the Year Khalil Mack from the Oakland Raiders.

The move was paying dividends on Sunday night against the Packers. He had a sack and a forced fumble in the first half. And then there was what he was able to do just with his mere presence. But his forced fumble late in the second quarter might have been his best play so far.

He added a pick six with less than two minutes to go in the first half. You know, just because he could.

Fangio is no stranger to having a defense filled with stars. When he was the defensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers during the Jim Harbaugh era, Fangio had stalwart talents in the front seven. Aldon Smith, Justin Smith, Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman, and Ahmad Brooks were powerhouse players for Fangio during his time there.

It sounds ridiculous to say that the Bears can match the amount of talent that the 49ers once had, but the addition of Mack makes that possibility a bit more feasible. Having a pass rusher who can dominate one-on-one matchups makes life easier on the defense — and much, much more difficult on the opposing offense. Bears fans should get used to the sight of Mack blowing by right tackles on his way to sacks.

Mack got after it on his first snap as a Chicago Bear, driving their right tackle right into the lap of Aaron Rodgers.

In 2012, the 49ers defense finished third in the league in yards allowed per play with a stifling 4.7 yards per play. They finished 13th in sack percentage, but got a 19.5-sack season from Aldon Smith, who got a lot of help schematically from Fangio and benefitted from the presence of Justin Smith.

Chicago now has the personnel to run the same chaotic style of defense that the 49ers thrived on when they were at their peak in the early 2010s:

Comparing Roquan Smith to Willis is a bit of a stretch considering the rookie hasn’t played a snap of NFL football yet, but he has the talent to be an impact force from day one. His sideline-to-sideline speed is outrageous and will give the Bears a lot of flexibility up front with their blitzes.

Fangio’s defenses rely on a lot of action between the linebackers and the defensive linemen on blitzes and twists. With Mack and Roquan Smith now joining Floyd, the Bears have an extremely athletic trio of players who can disrupt plays in the backfield. Adding these two should get the Chicago defense over the hump — despite finishing sixth in sack percentage last year, the Bears actually struggled a bit on third down.

Even though the Bears had a good defense last year, they still had an issue of letting offenses get into a rhythm against them. Now, they have two more pieces in Mack and Smith to disrupt defenses.

Floyd will benefit greatly from having a dominant presence like Mack rushing across from him — it should be a similar to the one that Mack had on Bruce Irvin during his time with the Raiders. In the two seasons that Irvin played with Mack, he totaled 15 sacks and 10 forced fumbles. The forced fumble total probably won’t translate, but now Floyd will be in situations where he can tee off against pass blockers without having to worry about double teams on the edge. Mack can be the presence that helps the former first-round pick get back on track.

With the addition of Mack, the Bears now have one of the most talented defenses in the NFL. Fangio has had similar personnel in the past and Mack should help this defense get over the top to be truly dominant. They’ve built a rugged, nasty, and fast front seven — we’ll get a chance to see just how good they are come Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.