
The Chicago Bears are 5-3 but are in no way a perfect team heading into Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.
That was on full display on Sunday, as the Bears narrowly escaped Paycor Stadium with a 47-42 win over Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati Bengals. After blowing a two-score lead late in the fourth quarter, it came down to one final drive.
Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense quickly went to work down 42-41. It took four plays for Williams to throw a 58-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colston Loveland to retake the lead and secure a win for Chicago.
Flacco got the Bengals in position for a Hail Mary attempt but was intercepted on the last play of the game.
There was plenty to like and not like about the win, but it's clear that the Bears may need to make some moves. Here are three positions that the Bears definitely need to consider trading for:
Chicago currently ranks 20th in the NFL in sacks this season at 17 thus far.
The team's leader in sacks is Montez Sweat, who has four on the year. The struggles in sacking the quarterback in the Windy City go back more than 10 years.
The last Bears' player to record 10 sacks in a season was Willie Young in 2014, who had 10 that season.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler suggested New York Jets edge rusher Jermaine Johnson II as a potential trade target for Chicago earlier this season. Johnson has 11 sacks in his NFL career.
Even though the Bears brought in veteran defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson to bolster their injured secondary, the team still got abused by Cincinnati's receivers.
Despite having Tyrique Stevenson back, Flacco torched the secondary for 470 passing yards.
Chicago desperately needs help covering receivers on the outside, as Nahshon Wright had a tough time keeping up with Tee Higgins. Higgins led the Bengals with 121 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
With Kyler Gordon still out for a few more weeks at the least with a groin injury and Jaylon Johnson not being in the lineup since Week 2, a change needs to be made.
I could go on and on about the special teams problems Chicago had on Sunday, but there isn't enough time in the day.
First off was the 98-yard opening kickoff return touchdown from Charlie Jones. He was nearly untouched as he ran through the Bears kick coverage unit like a hot knife through butter. Jones was finally caught up with before he crossed the goal line, but it was too late at that point.
Then the worst of all was the blunder on the onside kick with under two minutes to go. You have to have more awareness and not let the ball hit off one of your player's feet in that situation.
Whether it's a receiver, linebacker or defensive back, the Bears need someone to help make their kick coverage better.
If the Bears do make any trades, they'll need to be finalized and submitted to the NFL office by 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday. We'll see how Chicago decides to play this.