Bears HC Ben Johnson singled out an overlooked player from the team’s Week 12 win showing how important each player can be
Some unsung heroes really stepped up in Week 12.
Going into Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, how many people actually knew the name Nikola Kalinic for the Chicago Bears? Even after the win, he might not have been a name many would recognize as making a big impact in Week 12.
Yet, he’s one of the numerous players head coach Ben Johnson has shouted out since Sunday’s win for the way they stood up and took hold of the opportunity presented in front of them.
“Really proud of the guys,” Johnson said . “Thought they did a phenomenal job just responding. I knew we were decimated in certain areas. The easy thing is to say, ‘Woe is me,’ and our guys didn’t do that, they just stepped up and kept battling through.”
Linebackers D’Marco Jackson and Amen Ogbongbemiga deserve the bulk of the praise for coming into major roles on Sunday and leading the team in tackles despite having limited defensive reps coming into the week. The same can be said for rookie Ozzy Trapilo making his first career start at left tackle and shining in place of Theo Benedet.
But, going back to Kalinic, he’s a player many didn’t take notice of when the Bears elevated him for the first time off the practice squad to help out on special teams. His head coach certainly noticed him.
Nikola Kalinic receives high praise from Ben Johnson for his Week 12 contributions
“A guy like Niko, who had been on practice squad all year long, stepped to the forefront there and did a really nice job on special teams,” Johnson explained on Monday. “That was good. He’s another guy that we didn’t even talk about last night but just another example of these guys stepping up when their number is called.”
Kalinic played a total of 16 special teams snaps on Sunday, his first regular season action since Week 3 of the 2024 season when he played for the Los Angeles Rams. He had two tackles on special teams, both on kickoff coverage and even brought some fire to the field when he was out there, jawing with multiple Steelers players throughout the game.
“It was fun to see,” Johnson added of Kalinic when speaking with Jeff Joniak on ESPN Chicago. “You never know how many opportunities you’re going to get to make an impact. This was his. We knew what type of game it was going to be too. We knew it was going to be chippy, they have a number of guys that like to run their mouths a little bit. Well, so do we. We didn’t want to cross the line, we wanted to toe that line. I think he’s one of those guys that knew exactly where that line was.”
It’s something you love to see, especially from a guy people may see as being on the bottom of the roster. Kalinic certainly made a little name for himself against the Steelers and should be properly recognized for his efforts on Sunday.
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