Things are going from bad to worse for the Chicago Bears. After losing two straight game to fall below .500 and only putting up 17 combined points in those two matchups, it's now the defense that's being dealt a tough hand.

Per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, Mack is not expected to play for the Bears in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers and Chicago hasn't ruled out placing him on short-term injured reserve as he deals with a foot injury.

Bears Pro Bowl pass-rusher Khalil Mack is not expected to play this week, per @MikeGarafolo and me, as the team will allow his ailing foot to rest. Giving him three weeks while on Injured Reserve to heal and rehab is being discussed. A significant blow to the Chicago defense.

It's really bad news for a team that is struggling to put up points on offense and has been relying heavily on their defense to keep them in games.

The note from Rapoport that the Bears haven't ruled out butting Mack on IR indicates that the injury is more severe than what may have been initially thought.

On the season in just seven games, Mack had accumulated six sacks for the Bears. To put that in perspective, Mack started and played in every game for Chicago the last two years and only produced 8.5 and 9 sacks in those two seasons, respectively. It looked as though he had tapped into the player that had been a consistent force for so many years at the start of this season and now he'll be out for at least one week.