Ben Johnson and the Chicago Bears coaching staff answered questions about their special teams this week, and now the NFL has added to the commotion on a busy Saturday. Bears linebacker D’Marco Jackson has received a fine for an illegal play on special teams during the win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 9.
The news comes just one day before the Bears host the New York Giants in Week 10.
Jackson, who is in his first year with the Bears and has a history with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, was flagged for the play during the game.
NFL Fines Bears LB D’Marco Jackson Over Hip-Drop Tackle
D’Marco Jackson Penalized Over Bears-Bengals
Jackson received a $6,111 fine for his hit on Bengals running back Samaje Perine, which left the latter injured, per the NFL’s Gameday Accountability portal on November 8. It occurred on a kickoff following a Bears scoring drive to take a 14-10 lead in a contest they won 47-42.
Jackson was not flagged for the tackle. Perine is week-to-week with an ankle injury.
“That’s the type of tackle that you hope is getting legislated out of the game,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said, per ESPN’s Ben Baby on November 4.
Jackson is still on his four-year, rookie contract, which is worth $3.9 million. His base salary is $1.1 million, or $64,705 per game. That means the infraction cost him more than 10% of his base salary on a per-game basis.
Jackson, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Saints, selected with the No. 161 overall pick in 2022.
Allen was the Saints’ head coach from that season through 2024. That was after he served as their defensive coordinator from 2015 through 2021.
The Bears claimed Jackson off waivers from the Saints at the end of the preseason. He has played in seven games this season. Jackson has 10 total tackles and 1 pass deflection, while logging 138 special teams snaps to 30 on defense, per Pro Football Reference.
Bears Special Teams Issues Widespread
The Bears’ special teams units have been much-maligned this season, with various execution and coverage errors taking their toll. Special teams coordinator Richard Highter gave an impassioned response to how they plan on handling the issues. He put the onus on himself.
Plays like Jackson’s, while not called that time, could severely affect the Bears the next time.
Notably, the Bears have been without special teams maven Amen Ogbongbemiga all season as he recovered from a knee injury.
Ogbongbemiga has been on injured reserve during his recovery. He has been practicing for several weeks after being designated to return. The Bears listed Ogbongbemiga as a full participant in practice this week.
It will be interesting to see if the Bears give Ogbongbemiga the nod over Jackson on gameday.