Matt Forte Ruled Out for Bears on Sunday
By Josh Hill
After suffering what appeared to be a high ankle sprain in last Thursday night’s loss to the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte has officially been ruled out for the Bears matchup against the Rams on Sunday.
“Matt Forte is making a lot of progress but he won’t be ready to this week,” Bears head coach Lovie Smith said after practice on Friday. “He is out for this game.”
The loss of Forte is an all too recent memory for the Bears. Last year, as their season crumbled due to injuries, the Bears lost Jay Cutler and Matt Forte in consecutive weeks. It was likely because of Forte’s fragile state this season that the Bears went out and signed a viable backup to step up if this very scenario played itself out.
Last year, Michael Bush made a name for himself filling in for the injured Darren McFadden in Oakland, and the Bears are hoping he can channel that production on Sunday when he fills in the Forte.
“Michael has started a lot in the league and has been in this role before,” Smith said Friday. “There are not many Matt Forte’s out there but our backup plan is pretty good, and Mike’s going to step in there and do a great job.”
St. Louis seemed like a winnable game on paper at the beginning of the year, but they’ve almost managed to start the season out 2-0 and had it not been for a miraculous comeback by Matthew Stafford and the Lions in week one, that would be the case. But sleeping on the Rams is not a good idea, and the loss of Forte could prove to be a major factor in the game. With an improved secondary, the Bears will have to get their running game going early to get the secondary on their heels, otherwise Jay Cutler won’t be the only Bears player getting feisty on the sidelines.