Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III suffered a quad injury Sunday night that is not thought to be serious, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter. Burden suffered the injury on the final play of Chicago's 42-38 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He attempted to walk off the field with trainers but eventually needed to be carted to the Bears' locker room. Burden, who also missed Chicago's Week 16 game with an ankle injury, will undergo additional testing Monday, the source told Schefter.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The Chicago Bears continue to deal with an illness that has impacted at least eight players ahead of their Sunday night meeting with the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears added wide receivers DJ Moore and Olamide Zaccheaus to the injury report Sunday morning with an illness and designated both as questionable. The team already ruled out Rome Odunze (foot) for a fourth straight game.
The Bears' defense is having an extraordinary year turning the ball over. The ball-hawk brothers Kevin Byard and Nahshon Wright are showing a preternatural ability to read a quarterback's mind and, as such, Chicago lead the league in interceptions (21) and total turnovers (31). They need to keep the giveaways flowing to cut the legs from a San Francisco offense quietly becoming a juggernaut.
The Bears now have five wins this season after trailing in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, tied for the most in a season since the 1970 merger, according to ESPN Research. Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams has five game-winning drives in the fourth quarter this season, the most in a season by a Bears quarterback since the merger.
"Nobody in that room wants to get it corrected more than the players, alright?" Hightower said. "And we are going to work night and day to get it all cleaned up. I can promise you that. I will bust my ass and they will too, alright, to get it cleaned up."
Odeyingbo was injured with 7:04 to play in the fourth quarter of Chicago's 47-42 win at Cincinnati. The 26-year-old edge rusher's ankle appeared to give out as he was matched up one-on-one with Bengals right tackle Amarius Mims, leading him to fall onto his back. Odeyingbo exited the game and did not return. He logged 37 snaps against the Bengals and recorded one quarterback hit.
Four takeaways. That's where the bar has been set for Chicago's defense after pushing past an 0-2 start, which included one of the worst defensive performances in franchise history in a 52-21 loss at Detroit in Week 2. It's become a rallying cry for the Bears, who took the ball away four times against Dallas in Week 4 and four more times in Las Vegas one week later.