Injuries ravage Bears in Week 12 loss vs. Jets

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The Bears suffered their fifth straight defeat, a 31-10 loss to the Jets in Week 12. To add insult to injury (literally), there were several key starters, among others, who were banged up in Sunday’s loss.

The most notable were to wide receiver Darnell Mooney and safety Eddie Jackson. Mooney suffered what appears to be a season-ending ankle injury, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Mooney will undergo further testing on Monday, but the outlook isn’t good for the third-year wideout.

“It stinks,” quarterback Trevor Siemian said. “As a player, [it’s] terrible. But if you spent any time with Darnell, he’s one of the best dudes in the locker room. That’s a part of the game that stinks. But he’s a strong dude. [It’s bad] when anybody gets hurt, but especially Darnell, it’s tough to see.”

Jackson suffered what appeared to be a non-contact foot injury, which left the Bears down another starting safety and defensive leader. There were no details on Jackson’s injury.

“He’s a [bleeping] leader, man,” said defensive tackle Justin Jones, via the Sun-Times. “He’s a hell of a player. I hope he’s OK. I just hope he comes back soon because we need him on defense. We really do.”

But Mooney and Jackson were far from the only injured players. Right tackle Riley Reiff suffered a shoulder injury, which prompted the return of second-year player Larry Borom. Unfortunately for Borom, he was also banged up. Safety Dane Cruikshank also re-aggravated his hamstring, leaving Chicago with just two safeties in DeAndre Houston-Carson and rookie Elijah Hicks.

“It’s tough,” center Sam Mustipher said, via the Sun-Times. “Moon, BoJack, Larry, Riley, that’s tough. It’s a violent game. You never want to see guys you go to battle with every day go down.”