Willie Young is racking up the sacks
Willie Young's sack of Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was the outside linebacker's fifth straight game with a sack, tying the Bears' franchise record.
Linebacker Brian Urlacher (2000) and defensive tackle Steve McMichael (1983 and 1991) are the only other Bears with a sack in five straight games in a single-season. (Sacks first started being officially recorded by the NFL in 1982.)
"I'm always out to make a statement since Day One, (being a) seventh-round draft pick," Young said Tuesday, the anniversary of the torn Achilles tendon that ended his 2014 season a game early.
"I'm not granted with many opportunities besides the ones that I had to go out and take. But it's not about my individual performance right now. It's mostly about trying to stay positive and keeping all the young guys on the same page and doing whatever it takes to get this thing rolling again."
Young has a team-best 6½ sacks after getting 5½ in the last five games. He is one of only three players this season with at least 6½ sacks and 1 interception.
The Kansas City Chiefs' Justin Houston has 7½ sacks and 2 interceptions, and the New England Patriots' Chandler Jones has 11½ sacks and 1 interception.
Young also led the Bears in sacks last season with a career-best 10. But he had to convert from a 4-3 defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker this season, and partly because of the injury, he was eased back into the lineup in the early going.
Young was inactive in Week 3 and had just 1 sack in the first nine games. But the trade of Jared Allen and the knee injury that has limited Pernell McPhee's snaps have helped increase Young's playing time.
"(I'm) on the field again," he said when asked about the leap in his productivity. "Patiently waiting for my opportunity to come back around.
"Taking advantage and doing what I've been doing since I was drafted in Detroit (in 2010). Just continue to take advantage of every opportunity I get and make sure I stay sharp with my fishing technique."
An avid fisherman, Young celebrates his sacks with a fishing-related pantomime.
Many happy returns:
Deonte Thompson's 5 kickoff returns produced 153 yards and a 30.6-yard average Sunday, and the three-year veteran leads the NFL with a 32.0-yard average among players with at least 10 returns.
He says his success is a group effort.
"(It's) the other 10 guys," he said. "They blocked their butt off (Sunday). We feel like we still left some yards on the field. We feel like we could have had more production than we did, even though we did have a good day."
The 6-foot, 203-pound wide receiver was signed as a street free agent in Week 3 and didn't even get on the field until Game 10.
Extra points:
Robbie Gould's 51-yard field goal against Minnesota improved his career percentage to 73.3 (22-for-30) on kicks of 50 yards or longer, fifth best in NFL history. Gould's onside kick to open the second half was recovered by the Bears, his first successful onside kick in his 11-year Bears career. … Matt Forte surpassed 1,100 yards from scrimmage Sunday, as he has done in each of his eight seasons. That's something accomplished by only six other NFL players: Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Ricky Watters, Curtis Martin, Eddie George and LaDainian Tomlinson.