Fangio says Mack injury no excuse for Bears defensive lapses

Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offered the most plausible explanation for his crew's inability to get to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady last week, which has been a hot topic of conversation.

The biggest reason the Bears sacked Brady just once wasn't because Khalil Mack was playing at less than 100 percent because of an ankle injury, or that he was asked to drop into coverage more often than he rushed, although those both played a role.

"The thing that happened in that game, that affected all the points you guys are making, is that we only had one third-and-7 in the whole game," Fangio said, noting that most of the Patriots' third-down situations came at much shorter distances.

"The rest of them were third-and-1s and 2s primarily. Then the other third-and-6 we had was their last play, when they were trying to run the ball out. We didn't get them in third down and obvious pass situations."

Of the Patriots' 13 third downs, five required just 2 yards to move the sticks and three others needed just a yard. It's actually surprising they didn't convert more than the 46 percent they did.

On third-and-short, even though the Patriots threw the majority of the time, the ball came out quickly before the pass rush could get home.

As defensive lineman Akiem Hicks said a week earlier when the Bears failed to get any sacks against the Miami Dolphins: "You have to earn the right to rush the passer on third down by playing well on first and second down."

The Bears didn't do that again against New England.

Fangio said his decision to have Mack drop into coverage instead of rushing more, as he had in previous games, was not due to the ankle injury but more to mix up coverages because Brady often prefers to get rid of the ball quickly.

"How'd that work out for you?" Fangio was essentially asked.

"Not too bad," he said. The Bears allowed an acceptable 381 yards, exactly the Patriots' average, and the defense was responsible for just 24 of the 38 points, since New England scored twice on special teams.

"Obviously not good enough," Fangio said. "But we didn't give up any big plays; (still) it could've been better."

Mack doesn't appear to be much healthier this week leading up to the New York Jets game. He did not practice at all Wednesday and Thursday, just like last week.

"He's affected by it," Fangio said. "He hasn't practiced, so I don't have a great feel for his current status, but he's obviously not 100 percent … we'll see."

Fangio admits that, whether Mack is injured or dropping into coverage, not having him affects the pass rush, but not as much as some believe.

"Certainly it's part of it," Fangio said. "But I don't think it's one of the main reasons."

And, as far as using Mack's injury as an excuse for the defense's overall drop-off in performance the past two weeks, Fangio won't hear of it.

"It may affect our overall performance, but it's no reason for a guy over here and a guy over there to have a bad down because (Mack) is subpar," Fangio said. "That's just a fact. For anybody to use that as a crutch is just looking for a reason.

"Whether he's out there playing at his best or playing at something less than his best because of an injury, it doesn't affect the way the other 10 guys have to do their jobs.

"Now, can the result be better? Yes, for the unit. But it still shouldn't affect the way you do your job, and I just don't buy that that's the reason this guy is not playing as well, or that guy is not playing as well."

• Bob LeGere is a senior writer at Pro Football Weekly. Follow Bob's Bears reports on Twitter @BobLeGere or @PFWeekly.