Khalil Mack is still an elite pass rusher, and 1 lineman has the cleat mark to prove it

I was minding my business on Sunday, flipping back and forth between games and the highlights on NFL RedZone, when something caught my eye. I was almost about to flip away from RedZone when I saw it. Khalil Mack made a play that made me say, ”oh shit” in the most urgent whisper you’ve ever heard in your life.

I rewound the play on my DVR just to make sure I had actually seen what I thought I saw. I ended up cussing even louder.

And then I tweeted about it:

Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to watch the Bears’ film this week and, sure enough, that play wasn’t a one-off for Mack. He had a tremendous effect on the outcome of that game, especially with his pressures late that helped stave off a last-minute comeback attempt by the Giants.

That dominating performance gave me the perfect excuse to finally write about Mack for the first time this season.

That guy has been on fire (NBA Jam voice) since the minute he took the field in a real NFL game. He was making monster plays as a rookie, even as it was pretty apparent that the Raiders weren’t sure how best to use him. After a four-sack rookie campaign in 2014, Mack exploded for 15 in his second season and hasn’t had fewer than double-digit sacks in any year since.

This year, however, Mack, isn’t having the kind of season most people would have predicted. Of course, you could say that about the entire Bears team at this point. That isn’t to say that Mack has been terrible or anything season.

Far from it, in fact.

However, the truth is Mack set one hell of a bar last year after notching 12.5 sacks in just 14 games in his first year in Chicago. It was always going to be hard for him to repeat that kind of performance, especially since the way he played was bound to inspire opposing offenses to pay him even more attention this year. I think even he would tell you that while he has played well this season, his play overall still hasn’t been up to his standard.

Sunday was a different story, however.

Mack was right back to looking like his damn near unblockable self against the Giants. He ended up making one of the biggest plays of the game when he beat Giants left tackle Nate Solder with a long arm and chopped down on Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones’ arm to force a fumble that his teammate, Nick Williams, recovered. The Bears, who had been holding on to a six-point lead, went down and scored another touchdown to make it 19-7 in a game that they went on to win 19-14.

But, you know what? I’m not here to talk about that play. I’m here to talk about the one that had me cussing on Sunday. The one that made me notice Mack’s big game in the first place.

This play happened with just over five minutes left in the game, and the Bears still ahead 19-7. The Giants were threatening to score after marching all the way down to the Chicago 18-yard line. It was, however, second-and-13 and the clock wasn’t on their side.

Mack was lined up as the defensive left edge rusher in a wide five across from Giants right tackle Mike Remmers, while Williams was lined up head up on right guard Kevin Zeitler. Mack and Williams were running a pass rush game that called for Mack to come barreling inside as a penetrator and exchange lanes with Williams, who would then loop around outside behind him for containment. The Giants threw a wrinkle into this plan by having center Jon Halapio slide Mack’s way, too. That created a situation where New York had three offensive linemen to block two pass rushers, which should’ve favored them.

Except for the fact that one of those pass rushers was Khalil Mack.

Even though Remmers, Zeitler, and Halapio had formed what looked like an impenetrable wall in Mack’s direction, instead of being deterred he appeared to become even more determined. Mack lowered his pads and went all-out right into Zeitler’s chest, and damn near caved it in.

Now, I don’t know if someone stepped on Zeitler’s foot or what, but what I do know is that Mack looked like the Juggernaut running straight through him. It was so bad that neither Halapio nor Remmers could help out.

As if that wasn’t embarrassing enough — and this is what got me — Mack did not break stride in his pursuit of the quarterback. And since Zeitler was at that point lying on his back and looking like a cockroach sprayed with Raid, his chest just so happened to be right underneath Mack’s foot as Mack kept running.

Yes, that’s right, Mack literally ran him over.

I still can’t believe it.

Like, that’s the kind of shit I’d expect to see in scene in a football movie that everybody loves, but is panned as not actually being “realistic.”

And yet, I’m betting Zeitler has a nice-sized bruise on his chest today that says it’s very realistic indeed.

Mack didn’t actually end up with a sack on that play, as Jones was able to slip just out of his grasp when Mack dove at his legs from behind. He did force Jones to scramble and eventually throw the ball away, but honestly, whatever happened after Mack ran over Zeitler on that play didn’t seem much matter to me. That feat, in and of itself, was incredible enough for me.

As it stands right now, the Bears are unlikely to make the playoffs this year, and Mack’s 6.5 sacks so far are probably too low to have him in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. None of that made a bit of difference when he stepped on that field against the Giants, though.

With his game-changing sack and caused fumble, five pressures, and two other hits on the quarterback, Mack once again reminded everyone of the ease with which he can take over a game on any given week.

Without a doubt, Mack is still one of the baddest pass rushers on the planet, and Zeitler has the cleat mark on his chest to prove it.