Last week in Oakland, Ravens outside linebacker Matthew Judon showed that he can be an all-around linebacker. The only thing missing was the sacks.
Well, this week Judon got those too.
The second-year linebacker was once again all over the field and strong against the run, but also added two sacks during Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Chicago Bears.
They were his first sacks of the season, and they led the way for a Ravens pass rush that dropped Bears rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky five times at M&T Bank Stadium.
"I've been rushing the passer well. I just haven't gotten some," Judon said. "Sacks didn't fall in my lap, and today, I was able to get two, get off the schneid."
Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees helped scheme up Judon's first sack, which came on third-and-11 late in the second quarter.
Inside linebacker C.J. Mosley blitzed up the middle to draw an offensive lineman and running back, which opened a hole for Judon to come up the middle on a slightly delayed stunt. Judon nailed Trubisky for an 8-yard loss.
Judon's second sack came in an even bigger situation in overtime. This time, it was just a heads up play by the fifth-round pick out of Grand Valley State.
Lined up on the left side, Judon took on Bears right tackle Bobby Massie. Outside pressure by Terrell Suggs, and internal penetration by defensive tackle Willie Henry made Trubisky step up. Judon released from Massie and looped back underneath to hit the rookie quarterback.
Judon did more than rush the passer. He also finished with a whopping 14 tackles. Two came on special teams and 12 were solo tackles.
That led the team in Sunday's game and set a career high. Judon had two tackles for loss against the run, including one in which he stopped Bears running back Tarik Cohen 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
However, Judon wasn't in the mood to talk about his individual day following a heartbreaking loss.
"Every loss stings the same way," he said. "It doesn't matter if I have 45 sacks and we lose, it still hurts."
