Getty Khalil Mack #52 of the Chicago Bears rushes against Bryan Bulaga #75 of the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field on September 05, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
An embarrassing road loss to the San Francisco 49ers will be a little easier to forget for the Green Bay Packers after getting good news Monday about one of their injured offensive line starters.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Packers starting right tackle Bryan Bulaga avoided a major knee injury Sunday night against the 49ers after getting his right knee rolled up in the first quarter and leaving for the remainder of the game. The 10th-year veteran will have an MRI to determine how much time he will miss this week.
#Packers RT Bryan Bulaga is believed to have an MCL sprain, source said. He’ll have an MRI to determine how long he’s out, but it’s nothing major. Most importantly, the ACL was spared.
Bulaga could miss next Sunday’s road game at the New York Giants and potentially the following week’s home matchup against the Washington Redskins, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, but he should return “for the stretch run” this season for the Packers.
That Bulaga dodged another ACL injury is fortunate considering he injured the same knee that was repaired in 2017 after he tore the ligament. Missing any amount of time, though, will make for yet another season in his 10-year NFL career where he was unable to play in all 16 games.
Backup Alex Light was exploited during Sunday’s 37-8 loss filling in at right tackle for Bulaga, but he was matched up against Nick Bosa, who has been an absolute force at defensive end for the 49ers throughout his rookie season. He made one of the five sacks against Aaron Rodgers and finished with three tackles and a quarterback hit.
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Offensive Line Veteran Not Making Any Excuses
Starting center Corey Linsley admitted things got more difficult for the Packers offensive line once Bulaga went into the locker room, but he wasn’t interested in using it as an excuse for his unit’s poor performance Sunday night against one of the best pass-rushing groups in the NFL.
“We’re just really disappointed with the loss,” Linsley said in Sunday’s postgame. “In our room, I know every single one of those guys is disappointed and we definitely want to come back strong this week (against the Giants).”
The Packers faced third-and-long situations almost exclusively throughout their rough night in California, as 14 of their 17 third downs required them to gain eight yards or more to convert. They managed to succeed on just a single third down the entire game — with 55 seconds left and Rodgers already pulled for the night — while a Niners personal foul wiped out an outrageous 3rd-and-35.
It didn’t help that starters David Bakhtiari and rookie Elgton Jenkins were both called for drive-wounding penalties in a performance that was reminiscent of the Packers’ last trip to the West Coast when they suffered a 26-11 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 9.
“We’ve got to do better, but we bounced back after the Chargers week,” Linsley said. “I think the guys in this locker room, and especially the guys in the O-line room because we all know each other so well, we’ve got to get this back. We’ll do our best and we’re going to work our ass off this week and get ready to go.”
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