If you were told back in August that the top two players for the Chicago Bears defense in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers would be linebackers Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis, you'd likely say the season didn't go as expected.
And that's exactly what happened on Sunday.
Kwiatkoski and Pierre-Louis were, in fact, the Bears' highest-graded defenders with at least 47 snaps against the Packers, per Pro Football Focus. Meanwhile, Chicago's 21-13 loss eliminated them from the 2019 postseason picture.
Injuries to Roquan Smith (pec) and Danny Trevathan (elbow) have created extended starting opportunities for Kwiatkoski, who's quickly become one of the most appealing defensive free-agents-to-be this offseason.