Down goes Dvoracek

For the fourth time in his four years in the NFL, Bears nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek has suffered a season-ending injury.

The knee that Dvoracek injured in Saturday night’s 17-3 victory over the Giants will require surgery, and he will be placed on injured reserve, ending his season. It is the second time in his short career that Dvoracek has suffered a season-ending injury before the start of the regular season. After he was drafted in the third round out of Oklahoma in 2006, the 6-foot-3, 303-pound Dvoracek played just two preseason games before a foot injury shelved him for the season.

In 2007, Dvoracek made it to the season opener, which he started, but he suffered a knee injury in that game and was placed on injured reserve, again ending his season. Last year, Dvoracek won the starting nose tackle position and started the first 12 games, but a torn biceps muscle landed him on injured reserve again.

At the time of last year’s injury, Dvoracek led the Bears’ linemen in tackles and, according to STATS, LLC, he ranked fourth in the NFL with 7 ½ stuffs (tackles of a ball carrier behind the line of scrimmage).