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The New Orleans Saints host the Chicago Bears to open the 2021 NFL Playoffs, and they’ll be missing a huge weapon on defense. Defensive end Trey Hendrickson leads the team with 13.5 sacks, but has been ruled out due to a neck injury. He was limited on Wednesday and then sat out practice entirely on Thursday and Friday.
The Saints ranked 8th in the NFL in sacks this season and 6th in adjusted sack rate. It was a team effort, but Hendrickson was critical. Defensive end Cameron Jordan was second on the team with 7.5 sacks, followed by defensive tackle David Onyemata with 6.5 and defensive end Carl Granderson with 5.
They face a Bears offensive that was 18th in sacks allowed and 15th in adjusted sack rate. Mitchell Trubisky has only been sacked once in each of the past three games. It had been a bit rougher when he first returned to the starting lineup in late November, getting sacked eight times in his first three games back.