Can Akiem Hicks clear the way for Khalil Mack and make the Bears scary again?

It’s a good thing Akiem Hicks is one of the Bears’ burliest players at 6-4, 352 pounds, because he’s going to shoulder an enormous amount of pressure when he returns from injured reserve.

The Bears hope Hicks will be back for a crucial game Sunday at Green Bay.

They also hope he’ll vault their defense from fine to ferocious.

Welcome back, Akiem. Now save the season.

As the Bears make a wild charge for a playoff spot over the final three games, it would help if their offense can build off its apparent breakthrough. But they can’t count on that. They couldn’t count on it last season, either.

Actually, they haven’t been able to count on that for pretty much their entire century of existence.

What made this team great last season was its overwhelming defense, and that’s what can lift the Bears again. This was a dangerous group of ballhawks, backfield invaders and fumble causers. The 2019 Bears are very good defensively, but they aren’t what they used to be.

That’s where Hicks comes in. He has the potential to loosen everything up because of the attention he draws in the middle, alongside some rotation of Nick Williams, Eddie Goldman and Bilal Nichols.

Opponents can’t scheme exclusively to keep Khalil Mack at bay if Hicks is there. Mack and Leonard Floyd should have freer paths to the quarterback, which usually leads to hurried, ill-advised decisions by quarterbacks.

Hicks also is incredible at stopping the run.

Every player throughout the defense benefits from Hicks’ ability to blast through offensive lines and the extra blockers it takes to manage him.

“Akiem is another guy that teams gotta prepare for,” Floyd said. “Adding him would loosen it up, most definitely. When you’ve got him and Nick and Eddie, all three of them fellas, it definitely will.”

With Hicks in the lineup for all 16 games last season, the Bears led the NFL in takeaways (36), interceptions (27) and opponent passer rating (72.9). They were also third in sacks (50) and fourth in opponent third-down conversion percentage (34.3).

Their numbers this season, mostly without him, are very good but not elite. The Bears are top 10 in points and yards allowed, but they’re missing that combustible element.

They’ve slipped toward the middle in the number of explosive plays that change games: 18th in sacks, 18th in interceptions and 14th in takeaways entering Sunday.

Mack had 12½ sacks, his second-highest total, and a career-best six forced fumbles last season. He has 7½ this season, putting him on track for the second-lowest of his career.

He’s facing all kinds of elaborate schemes, ranging from double- and triple-teams to chipping running backs and even four men hitting him on one play against the Vikings.

“I feel like every game, it’s kind of been the same kind of thing,” Mack said.

Collectively, the Bears have just five sacks on 146 drop-backs in their last four games. That’s not putting a panic into anybody.

And this is the time the Bears most need to cause one.

They go into the final three weeks two games behind the Vikings for the final wild-card spot. They’ll need to win at least two and get help.

If that’s not enough of a long shot, the three teams they’re facing are a combined 28-11. And they don’t make many mistakes.

The Packers have committed the second-fewest turnovers in the NFL, followed by the Chiefs at fourth and Vikings at 11th. All three are in the top 14 in fewest sacks allowed as well.

And the quarterbacks? Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins is second in the league with a 112.0 passer rating, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes is sixth at 105.3 and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers is ninth at 102.4.

The Vikings, looming in the season finale, also have the No. 6 rushing offense.

Hicks could be the dynamite that blows up all those impressive numbers, but only if he’s back at his usual level after missing two months.

“If I can get my body to a place where I feel like I can compete at a high level, there’s nothing that would stop me from being on the field with my boys,” he said. “You have to make sure that you’re capable. I want to know that I can go out there and be the same player that I’ve always been.”

No one can say for certain that’ll be the case. But the Bears are hoping.